Mission Daya's One night Stand
by TalesOFTanya
Summary: Jhanvi Sharma works for GlamGoss, and has been assigned to write an article on CID. Worse is She has twenty-four hours to frame Inspector Daya as a playboy. Jhanvi has to break the mould, and get Daya to have a one night stand with her. Lets see how she does it! And just because of my sweet reader Aditi I have changed the rating of this story! Please read and enjoy! thanks :)
1. An embarassing intro

"Tum jesi aurato ke wajah se main humesha pyar se dur bhagta hu!" Daya snarled at me. I wept my eyes with the back of my left hand, my mascara smeared all over. I was paying attention to him, his rage making me choke.

"Chali jao mere nazron se, Get out!"  
The next thing I knew I was standing outside his room, looking down at the carpeted hall as tears fell from my brown eyes. I was standing outside Daya's hotel room as an emotional wreck. How did I end up like this you ask? Ugh, for that I have to go back about… thirty-six hours. Bear with me.

"Jhanvi, meri Star reporter! Kaisi ho tum?"

Sanjay, my most slimy boss ever, was the chief editor of the GlamGoss magazine; a sleazy gossip magazine with bold and brassy headlines about things that never happened. It's the kind of magazine that you'd find in a hair dressers, in the fake nailed clutches of some thirty something, gum popping, late forties waiting for her peroxide bleach hair to dry. Nevertheless we made our money; we sold our magazines and went on snapping up the corniest of stories.

"Jese tumne mujhe 12 ghante pehle dekha tha! First class! "I muttered as I picked up some of the documents on his table that I have to work on.

"Dekho, I know that tumhe leave chahiye. Or tumhe leave milega!" He beamed at me. I heaved a sigh silently.

"But at the same time Jhanvi I cant get over the fact ke tumhe kitne ache tarike se Rakesh Mehra ko fasaya hai, yeh ho bhi kese gaya ki tum or woh ek hi party me the us din!"

Rakesh Mehra in case you don't know is a second Generation of super star and this pretty boy is tipped to be the successor of his father, who was the famous veteran star.

"Well done Jhanvi, kya project tha woh yar, Mehra ki kya dhajiya uri jab uski photo Goa ke ek joint strip club se bahar ate hue tumne kheechi. Jabki uski super model biwi uske bache ko samhal rahi thi Mumbai me. Yeh sab kitna perfect sound karta hai jab uski debut film release hone hi wali hai. Well done Jhanvi, you are amazing!"

I wanted to mash my face off the keyboard in embarrassment. It had been a set up. GlamGoss had sent out an anonymous party invitation to Rakesh. He hadn't known it was a strip joint until he'd walked in. And then, it was all downhill from there. Nakul, my best friend and photographer had snapped him walking in and walking out and Rakesh was as good as tarred and feathered from that moment. Who was to know that the time from him entering and leaving had only been ten minutes. This was routine at GlamGoss, we were in the right place at the right time because we orchestrated ninety nine percent of our stories.

"Good girl," chuckled Sanjay, patting me on the top of my head. I tried not to shudder. It had taken me an hour to get my curls all nice and swishy this morning and I didn't want his large sweaty hand greasing it up. He walked off into his dingy office where he eased his grossly overweight frame into the chair and promptly lit up an illegal cigarette. I turned my face away from the internal window and back to the computer screen which had finally flickered into life. Checking my emails was my first priority. I scanned the list as I downloaded my inbox.

There were thousands of stories from Celebrity and high profile politician hub; something about a politician using government money to fund his daughter's private education, something about a singer turning himself as homosexual. I rolled my eyes and was about dumped most of them to trash can when my eyes caught few words. CID inspector Daya breaks up with his Girlfriend. I felt a little giddy as thought how it actually would feel to be his girlfriend. I snorted as I pictured his large frame that I always was a fan of. Just then my train of thought was interrupted as hurricane Nakul came blowing in through the door.

"EVERYONE GOOD MORNING!" he cried, waving his hand about regally. A few of my colleagues looked up from their desks and rolled their eyes at him. Nakul wasn't one for subtlety. He was bossy, attention seeking, annoying as hell and said 'Oh my god' way too many times. His hair most of the time has a stripe of black zigzagging its way through the middle. He wore neon green thick framed glasses, bright blue skinny jeans with a white Being Human t-shirt and his ringtone was Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend'. He was as bent as a spoon, but I loved him to pieces.

I managed to move my vanilla latte out of the way in time as he came sliding across my desk on his butt, the Pentax K10 around his neck nearly whacking me in the face  
"So…Star Girl," he grinned, "Who're you fucking these days?"

That's the thing about Nakul, other than the fact he swears like a trooper, he will greet you every time you see him like he hasn't seen you in a year.

"In the ten minutes since I've last seen you, mujhe nehi lagta tujhe yeh puchna bhi chahiye, meri luck itni bhi achi nei!"I replied, nonchalantly.

"Good point. Or bta aj ka headlines kya hai?" he asked, helping himself to my mouse and skimming through my inbox.  
I leant back in my chair and let him work.

"Politician ne abhi beti ke private education ke liye funds churai, waah. Kash woh uski najaiz beti hoti, or bhi maza ata nei!" He spoke with ease. I can't believe he can be so cruel at times like this. But what we do is the selling cruelty for money. I can't complain much.

"You've already deleted some? Jhanvi, yaar mujhe dekhna tha yeh pehle!"

"They'll be in the trash can if you want to see them but they're just the ones that…"

I was interrupted as a high pitched squeal emitted from Nakul.  
"Inspector Daya is single? Oh. My. God. I fucking hope so! I can never get bored of him kicking my booty in bed like he kicks the doors. Ha, ha."

"Ugh, Nakul you are so vulgar!" cried Riya as she swung around in her chair to glare menacingly at us both. What Riya was doing working for GlamGoss I'll never know. She walked around with her nose in the air and acted as though she had a rod permanently jammed up her ass. Her articles were mostly high class and should have been in something like the Hindu or something. Yet here she was, polluting the atmosphere at GlamGoss.

"Oh go suck on a diapers now Riya!" barked back Nakul. Riya went puce with rage and snapped her head back to her computer screen and began typing away furiously. God I loved that guy.

"Behave Nakul," came the voice of Sanjay from behind me, "Do you ever know when to stop?"

"Kya farak parta hai? don't you just love me for it," he winked, blowing Sanjay a kiss from his hand. Sanjay chuckled heartily, every roll of fat jiggling in time with each other. I tried not to shudder visibly.

"Tu wese bhi thik keh raha hai Nakul!" admitted Sanjay, "CID team ke kisse bhot chalte hai magazine me. That's the reason I came out here to talk to you Jhanvi, I want you to do a story on them."

I waved my hand in the direction of the computer screen and sighed.  
"Daya's dating career is done to death Sanjay, besides; time after time he's denied it and there's just no more story left there."

"I wasn't thinking about that, mai to kuch or hi soch raha tha."  
Oh dear. That's never a good thing. The last time Sanjay was 'Soching' I ended up following Rakesh Mehra into a strip joint, so his track record on "Soching" was not a good one.

"There are never any scandals about those men, especially that Inspector Daya. He seems to be some kind of poster Guy for chastity. Agar hum kisi bhi tarah uske image ko pop kare to it is definite we'll be famous and flying to banks."

"Sanjay bhai, tum keh kya rhe ho?" Nakul asked.

"Agar woh one nights stand kare to? Or yeh baat humare magazine me chape to? Socho? Imagine the explotion guys?"

"And how exactly are we supposed to catch him red handed?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"That's where you come in Jhanvi dear," he winked menacingly. I didn't like the look of that.  
"I've arranged for you and Nakul to hang out with them tomorrow under the pretence that you're doing a story on what a day off with CID is like. I want you to latch onto that Daya, so that after the interview comes to a formal end, you follow him back to his place, and into his bed. I want you to sleep with Inspector Daya."

No. Definitely not good.


	2. A shocking mission

I looked at Sanjay as if he'd suddenly grown a new head. What the hell was he _thinking_? Nakul, on the other hand, looked as though all his pay checks had come at once.

"Seriously?" he gasped, in the stereotypical, camp accent of his. Stereotype was Nakul all over in case you hadn't already guessed.  
"Oh. My. God," he squealed clapping his hands together.

"Whoa, Ek minute BOSS," I said holding up a hand and pushing my black red herring glasses up my nose with the other, "Tum kya keh kya rahe ho? You can't actually expect me to do this I mean…"

I trailed off. Sure I wouldn't mind wrapping my legs around that God of Hunkness; he was after all one of the best looking human beings in the police department of India, if not the world. The smile of his god damn it. Whatever his age is he can still beat the newbies in department for 20 years long.

"You mean what?" prompted Sanjay, snapping me out of my thoughts and back to reality with a bump.

"I mean, I'm not exactly one-night stand material am I? One-night stands are tall, leggy, and have the IQ of a potato. Sadly, I don't fall into any of those categories Sanju," I sighed. I was short; my hair was a dark brown, an annoyingly small A cup with a commendable IQ of 119.

"Don't put yourself down like that Jhanvi," he said, clapping a hand on my shoulder, "You have natural beauty…"

'Since when has natural beauty got anyone anywhere?' I asked myself internally.

"… and besides, he is a cop. He will kill me when he finds out about this!" I looked at my computer screen, reading his name over and over again.

"And one night stands are not for men like him Sanjay. He doesn't want _anything_ that's the point," I groaned, "Besides, I'm too busy, there's a really interesting lead here on the scam of the politician and I was going to follow it up and…"

"Jhanvi Ji!" scolded Nakul, "Hunkiest Inspector Daya on a silver platter is not something you turn down!"

"But he's not on a silver platter! I actually have to work at it, flirt with him and seduce him or whatever and…"  
I gave up and let my forehead fall onto the desk with a thump, where I whimpered to my mouse pad.

"Okay ab sab kuch thik ho jaiga guys. You two can have the rest of the day off to get ready for tomorrow; Main tum logo ko kal ki details email se send kar deta hu," beamed Sanjay, patting a large hand on my small back, which hurt by the way. Then something very unexpected happened. Sanjay leaned down and hissed into my ear.  
"Don't fuck this up Jhanvi, Bhot papad bele hai is interview ke liye mene. You better get that story."  
He stood up again and I looked up from my desk, confused and slightly frightened of this sudden change of character.  
"Good luck Shehzaadi," he smiled as he waddled off back to his office. Nakul let out another of his high pitched squeals.

"Oh. My. God. Right, we're going shopping!" he grinned, jumping off my desk and marching for the door. Turning around he began to walk backwards, waving at everyone.  
"Farewell all you bitches, me and my Jhanvi are off to win the heart of the mighty cop. Sarna mat zyada…"

And that's when he walked into the door and fell over.

"Yeh jaan bucke mene kiya tha. Farewell stunt!" he sniffed, getting to his feet and throwing the door open dramatically and strutting out like he was on the runway. Reluctantly, I picked up my bag and hurried after him.

*****  
"Lingerie…lingerie…lingerie…" muttered Nakul as he physically dragged me through the department store.  
"Ah-ha!" he cried, and tugged on my arm. Suddenly I found myself surrounded by bras and panties in all shapes and sizes and colours. Hai Bhagwan! Here we go.

"Where the hell do we start? Lingerie? For a cop?" I gawped. I wasn't big into Lingerie. A couple of skin coloured bras and a few knickers usually did me fine. I was pretty sure that even Nakul owned more provocative pieces of underwear.

"Dekho hume yeh interview or story kisi bhi haal me chaiye... Saam Dam ya dhand vhed! Kuch bhi!" He replied as he kept tagging me with him from aisle to aisle.

"Well not here sweetie, hume yaha kuch nei milne wala hai! this is the section for grannies with saggy abnormally large boobs. You're over there in the perky and petite section. The one with the wonder bras. Now..."  
He swirled around on his cowboy boot heel and promptly began to attack my chest with his hands. I yelped.

"Nakul, kya kar raha hai chee?" I asked in exasperation.

"I'm trying to work out whether you need a push up or cleavage enhancement," he mused.

"Can't I have both?" I whined. Nakul pouted and raised one of his eyebrows at me.

"Honey, It's a bra not a miracle worker."

I rolled my eyes and followed him over to the wonder bra section where he proceeded to shove bras at me.

"Do you need any help?" asked an assistant with slicked back hair making her look like some girl from the Airlines.

"Yes," replied Nakul, "Psychiatric. But you can't help me with that. Bye now!"

The assistant didn't know whether to laugh or look offended. She walked away looking a bit confused. Nakul turned me around and began pushing me towards the dressing room. Once inside he pushed me into a cubical and took residence on a seat opposite, his arms folded and his legs crossed. I proceeded to do a little bra fashion show. Between bras number three and four, I emerged from behind one of the curtains to find him talking on his mobile.

"...of course it's an emergency! Trisha you...uh-huh... uh-huh... fabulous. You're a star. Kisses!"  
He proceeded to make kissing noises into the receiver before snapping it shut.

"What was that all about?" I asked curiously, leaning against the frame of the stall. Nakul slipped his phone back into his Hanah Montana shopper bag that was draped from his shoulder and tapped the side of his nose.

"Never you mind. Now back in we go I'm still not seeing cleavage."

I sighed and retreated back into the stall where we continued our fashion show. Finally when I opened the curtain for the sixth time Nakul leapt to his feet clapping his hands together.

"Yes! We have boobs!"

I looked down and prodded them with a finger. They didn't look any different to me, but Guru Nakul knew best no doubt. Then, a thought.

"He will definitely not need this!" I moaned

"Shut up...He is a man after all!" He smiled

"Isn't he going to be… disappointed when he takes it off?" I said, motioning to the bra, "Seeing as it's all exaggerated."

"Honey, by then he'll be too horny to care. Right," he continued, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Stay there, and _don't_ get dressed again."

I picked at my nails until he returned with some very small and revealing knickers.

"Do you think that inspector is a thong kind of guy?" he asked holding up a small piece of black lace on a hanger. I cringed visibly and gave him the evil eyes over the top of my glasses.

"I don't care if he is or not," I replied drily, "I'm not spending all of tomorrow picking that out of my ass for the sake of it."

Nakul smirked and produced the hand that had been hiding behind his back. Now that was more like it. Reasonable sized underwear, no dental floss in sight, black to match the bra, and trimmed with lace.  
"Main tujhe kitne ache tarah se jaanta hu yar haina? Just check it fits and we're out of here. Got places to be," he added with one of his knowing winks. I frowned.

"Where exactly?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He just tapped the side of his nose and skipped off out of the dressing room. I rolled my eyes and tried on the underwear, which fitted comfortably. I put the items back on their hangers and got dressed again. I paid for them and found Nakul trying to chat up a very frightened looking male sales assistant. I grabbed him and dragged him off, reminding him that he said I had to be somewhere. He instantly perked up and linked arms with me, skipping off into the street where he stood at the side of the road waving his arm about like a mad man until an auto rickshaw pulled up. We got in and Nakul gave the man an address.  
We pulled up outside a salon. A beauty salon. Now that's all right, I was getting my eyebrows done, or a manicure or something. The second we walked in Nakul was attacked by a tiny girl in a white pinafore. She jumped up into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.

"Trisha!" Nakul screamed, "How _are_ you?"

The tiny girl released him from her grapple and stepped down again.

"Considering I spend my days picking other people's spots and giving Aunties with nasty feet pedicures I think I'm doing pretty fucking good," she grinned. This Trisha girl had brown eyes and her pixie hair was pulled back by a bunny hairband. She turned to me and raised her eyebrows.  
"This her?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. She doesn't know," he tittered.

"Don't know what?" I asked, quite frightened now. I don't like it when people don't tell me things, I start to get paranoid and nervous. What are they doing to me? I thought it was going to be harmless, they're laughing at me, stop laughing! I was breathing unevenly now.

"Welcome to Brazil baby," said the bunny girl with a smirk. Brazil? But we were in Mumbai… in India. Oh. Oh no. No…no…no…no! Brazil? _Brazilian_. No thank-you! But before I had a chance to leg it for the door Nakul had grabbed my arm.

"No pain no gain," he said. I whimpered as he dragged me into one of the rooms of the salon. I shut my eyes and began praying to any and every god available.

Ten minutes later I was baring my modesty to this complete stranger called Trisha on some god uncomfortable bed-thing. I dug my nails into Nakul's hand. If he was going to make me go through with this I was going to make him bleed for it.

"Are you ready?" asked Trisha. Well the short answer to that is: NO.  
"1…2…3."

B.C M.C-

"NAKUL YOU…!" I screamed. Oh god, the pain. Trisha and Nakul just laughed. Do not laugh at me I am in pain!

"Some women say that it's the most painful thing next to Childbirth," commented Trisha with a smirk as she readied another strip of wax. Okay, that settles it. I am never, ever, ever having children. End of story. Nakul leant down and kissed me on the forehead.

"One down," he said encouragingly. I groaned and gripped his hand again. This was going to be an unpleasant afternoon.

I waddled out of the salon a while later, clutching Nakuls arm.  
"I…can't…walk…" I pined. It stung to high heaven and back. Even my jeans brushing against…there… made me wince. One step. Ouch. Two steps. Ouch…ouch. I couldn't wait to get home.

Back at the flat a few hours later I watched as Nakul tried to stab his Manchurian and chowmein with the chopsticks that we'd picked up at the take-away. He wasn't succeeding much. I had already finished my chicken manchurian, well, picked at it. I wasn't really hungry. I had had a rollercoaster of a day and my stomach wasn't ready for saturated fat. Instead, it was twisting and turning itself into knots, and nothing would settle it. Thankfully, down there had stopped hurting so much, now it just felt weird. Nakul puffed out his cheeks and slammed down the chopsticks. Picking up a fork he stabbed it into the noodles and twirled it around. Looking up, his frustrated face relaxed into a sympathetic smile.

"Relax Jhanvi, tomorrow will be fine," he breathed. I sucked on my cheek and looked away. I should be excited, this guy, this Cop, is a fucking god. Yet here I am, and I feel so sick. It's an impossible task. Why would he look twice at me, let alone whisk me off to his bedroom when he's only known me for a few hours? He's probably in a relationship anyway, just keeping it a secret.

"Sanjay's wrong," I blurted out suddenly, unable to hold back the word vomit, "I can't do this."

Nakul set his fork down and came over onto the couch beside me, putting his arm around my shoulder.  
"Yes you can!" he egged, trying to boost my confidence.

"No, no, I can't!" I said, shaking my head, "It's impossible, how am I ever going to pull him in one day? What would he ever see in me?"

I stopped as tears threatened. Nakul turned me around and pulled me into a proper hug.  
"Don't be ridiculous. You're wonderful, and if he can't see that in a day then he's killed off too many of those brain cells with gun powders. If I was straight, I would have totally banged your ass by now," he added with a grin. I didn't know whether to be flattered or disturbed.  
"Now, no more of this worrying," he scolded, helping me to my feet, he pushed me in the direction of my bedroom and slapped me on the ass.  
"Get yourself some sleep, tomorrow's going to be a long day. Don't worry about this, I'll clean up. G'night Jhanvi Ji."

I said my goodnights and walked into my room. Yeah, sleep, like _that's_ going to happen


	3. Ting Tong

Wake up, wake up, Abe uth ja Jhanvi!"

I groaned and rolled over and opened my eyes. A fuzzy blur was jumping on my bed. A fuzzy blur was also shouting things at me. Ugh, where are my glasses? I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and picked up my glasses and slid them on. Nakul was standing over me, already fully dressed with his hair done.

"Morning!" he beamed. He was so cheery I just wanted to punch him. It shouldn't be allowed that anyone could be that cheery, this early in the morning. How early? I looked at the clock. Half six in the morning? If I wasn't allowed back to sleep then someone had better get me caffeine stat.

"Kya hai?" I managed to mumble.

"YAAAAR today! Today, today, today!" he sang, in a made up tune.  
"What's…"  
But then I remembered. It hit me full smack in the stomach and the nausea returned. Oh, god, no not today. I had to screw Daya. Before I knew what was going on Nakul had dragged me out of bed and was proceeding to push me towards the bathroom.

"Don't forget to shave your legs," he called as he pushed me in and shut the door behind me. There was so many different reasons why that was a bad idea. I felt like a zombie, I didn't wear my glasses in the shower, and giving me a sharp object was never a very sensible thing. Hell, I could cut myself shaving in the shower if I was wide awake and had twenty-twenty vision. With a groan I pulled back the shower curtain and turned it on. I set my glasses on the counter beside the sink and walked back towards the now hot shower. Getting in, something didn't feel right. I groaned as I realised that I was still wearing my pyjamas. Something told me that today wasn't going to be a good day.

I walked out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, a towel wrapped around my body and my glasses back on my face. Nakul was sitting on the sofa, his laptop on his knee.

"Right," he announced, "We're to meet them at some hotel at ten, where we'll do the photo and then after… Oh. My. God. Jhanvi, kuch to dhang se kiya kar?"

I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights as I stared wide eyed at him.  
"Mene kiyaa kya?" I cried.

"Honey, look at your leg."

I looked down at my right leg and sighed. There was a little river of blood running down from a cut above my ankle. Why I hadn't noticed it before now I'll never know.

"Yar pagal hai tu, idher baith," he ordered, pulling out a stool from the dinette in front of the hair dryer, flat iron and various concoctions of hair products, "Do not move, do not touch anything and we might just get you out of here in one piece. I'm going to get something for the cut."

The thing was, he was right. I probably was going to end up killing or seriously injuring myself in my de-caffeinated, nervous, zombie state of mind. I just wanted to lean back in the chair and try to relax. Trouble was a stool never does have a back to lean against. Grabbing the table quickly I regained my balance. While I waited for my heart to stop having seven fits, I let out a long breath. Today was _defiantly_ not going to be a good day.

Nakul came back a few minutes later and put a little piece of cloth and something that stung onto the cut. It was a tiny insignificant nick, yet, it was bleeding like I'd gone and sliced my whole leg off. He blow-dried and straightened my hair after. I didn't have a problem with this, he'd worked part-time in a salon for two years when he was younger, and I trusted him. Besides, he was more adept at this grooming thing anyway. I nibbled at a bowl of cereals while he did this. I would have preferred not to put anything in my stomach at this delicate time, where I was likely to chuck it back up. But as Nakul had pointed up, it was hardly a turn on when your stomach started to roar like a lion at inappropriate moments.

"Sanjay has booked me a room in the hotel opposite so I can get pictures of you and Daya doing the dirty."

I snorted. It seemed like I was standing at the bottom of Mount Everest and Daya was sitting there at the top looking down at me. It just didn't seem possible.

"Don't make that noise at me," snapped Nakul, "You'll be fine, just act flirty and calm, like you know what you're doing, like you're a man-eater."

By the time he was finished my hair was silky smooth and straight as a die. That's the way I liked it. Swishy, is what I called it. I was just about to head to my room to get changed when Nakul called me back.

"What do you think of my t-shirt?" he asked, spinning around and putting his hands on his hips. I had to grasp onto the back of one of the chairs to stop myself from falling over laughing. On the front, it was just a plain white t-shirt, but on the back, there was a big black arrow pointing downwards to his butt, with the text, 'Insert here' written above it. Like I've said before, Nakul wasn't one for subtlety.

"You're going to scare CID team so much at this rate he'll be too traumatised to sleep with me," I gasped between laughs.

"With you around sweetie, he'll have no trouble getting it up," winked Nakul as he turned around. I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn. It wasn't often I got embarrassed by things, especially not sex, Nakul and I had equally smutty minds, but for some reason, it did. I scuttled off into my bedroom where I adorned my brand new underwear, and my black skinny jeans. Someone had told me once that gave me a nice ass, and no matter if it was that dickhead ex of mine, it still was a compliment. I suddenly discovered I had no idea what top to wear.

"Naks!" I yelled.

"The condoms are in the top drawer in the bathroom," he shouted back. I knew he couldn't see me through the wall but I felt like I should glare at him anyway. On second thoughts better make a note of that one, things are going to get complicated enough when that article is published without a mini inspector popping out in nine months time.

"Woh nehi yar, I don't know what to wear!" I complained back loudly. I put my hands on my hips and waited for his blond head to appear around the door. When it did he made a display of sighing loudly and rolling his eyes.

"Wear the top you wore on our last office party," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The one with the slashes?" I asked, appalled at the very thought, it was December, I was going to _freeze_! It was a long sleeved, scooped neck black top that looked from the back that you had been attacked by some kind of deranged animal. Sure it was sexy, and that kind of was the point of today wasn't it? I gave in. I was wearing it.

"Okay Einstein, what do I do when I catch pneumonia?" I asked curtly.  
Nakul shrugged his shoulders.  
"Wear your punky fish leather jacket?"

I opened my mouth, almost before he had said anything, intent on shooting down his idea, before I realised that it was a pretty good one. I closed my mouth and sighed. Okay so I was also wearing the leather jacket.

" Jhanvi, Kapre dhundne me itna time? You're a grown woman, stop acting like a star struck teenager. This is one occasion where it helps if you're a bitch, so start acting like one."

I stuck up my middle finger. He wants bitch? He's going to get bitch.

"That's my girl," he grinned, "We're leaving in twenty minutes so get your face done!"

Fully made up with my feet in my comfortable black boots, Nakul and I were sitting in the backseat of a company car. It suddenly occurred to me that I was supposed to be conducting an interview, a false one, but an interview nonetheless. I got out my note pad and began to scribble down a few questions. Despite myself I couldn't concentrate, who could given the situation? Nakul was beside me, fiddling with his camera. A million possibilities flitted through my head with gathering pace. What if he found me repulsive? What if he introduced me to his girlfriend… or… boyfriend? I looked out the window and tried to compose myself as best I could before I had a coronary. Suddenly the car came to a grinding halt.

"We're here!" chimed Nakul excitedly. My heart stopped. Oh god this was it. I climbed out and looked up at the GoldenChimes hotel. I had to start my act right now, who knows, he could be watching out one of the windows right now. I looked around as Nakul to talk to the driver. Linking arms, he marched me in through the doors and to the front desk. We told her who we were and asked about CID team upon which we were pointed to a serious looking man wearing glasses that was sitting on one of the sofas in the reception area. The man introduced himself as Nikhil, an inspector, and quizzed us like we were murder suspects or something. Once satisfied that we were who we said we were he escorted us to the suites in which others were staying. As we exited the lift and started walking down the corridor we became aware of shouting from the rooms at the far end. Cautiously following the Nikhil guy, we continued. Suddenly there was an ungodly cry of 'Abhijeet!'

A door burst open to my right and three bodies came hurtling out. Nakul yelped and jumped out of the way, flattening himself against the wall cradling his camera as though it was made of glass. I, on the other hand, didn't have such a lucky escape. The three bodies collided with me and the four of us went sprawling onto the floor. My glasses went flying onto the ground, leaving me blind and lying face first under three heavy bodies. No, today wasn't a good day.


	4. Plans

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"Kaun ho tum?" was the unanimous cry from the three people who were on top of me. All three voices were male. My next words were incoherent gibberish as I found myself smothered by the carpet, unable to lift my face because someone appeared to be sitting on it.

"Agar tum log uske uper se hato to bata paigi na woh!" snapped Nakul. There was movement above me as the people clambered off. Finally I was able to prop myself up on my arms. A hand, whom I assumed to be Nakul's helped me to my feet and handed me my glasses.

"Ap thik to hai na?" he asked.

That wasn't Nakul.

I slid my glasses onto my face and blinked at the stranger. Did I know him? No, I don't think I'd seen… yes I have! The realisation hit me that I was looking at that cops, minus his distinctive body frame. He looked so _different!_ Then another wave of realisation hit me. I was going to have to have sex with this man in about twelve hours.

"main thik hu," I managed to say as my head reeled.

"Good," he said with a nod, "Ek minute mujhe ek kaam pura karna hai…"

He began to sprint down the hall. I whirled around to see him chase after another man in brown coat and blue jeans who was sprinting down the hall, one hand laughing histerically.

"Abhijeet! Idher a tu!" roared Daya. The one called Abhijeet just laughed like a school boy as he disappeared around a corner.

Well this was unusual, I thought to myself. Nakul looked at me, equally confused by this impromptu introduction. As Daya too disappeared I turned to the remaining guy. Well I could hardly call him more like a young man. He was still giggling to himself about some unshared joke.

"Ap log GlamGoss magazine se ho na," he said, offering out a hand in my direction, "Main Pankaj hu. Aur woh jo bhagte bhagte gaye woh humare bureau ke sabse honhar officers hai. Abhijeet sir or Daya Sir. Ap logo ke wajah se hum bureau se yaha hotel me aye hai!"

"Main Jhanvi Sharma hu or yeh," I said, "yeh..."

I didn't get a chance to introduce Nakul as a bony hip jutted into mine, shoving me out of the way. It was at times like these when I wished Nakul was a little more subtle, but you learn to take the good with the bad.

"Main Nakul Shrivastav," he boomed, shaking Pankaj's hand as he batted his big brown eyelashes. Pankal took this obvious flirt in a surprise, looking frozen as a statue. I'd have to remind Nakul casually sometime today that not everything male was gay. A door further down the hall opened and another man, again I use the term boy to be about thirty something, poked his head out the door.

"Tune kya kiya Daya sir ke saath aj?" he asked casually as he walked down to meet us. Pankaj laughed.

"Fredy sir, maine kuch nei kia. Abhijeet sir ne Daya sir ki phone le li or unke phone ke contacts me jitney bhi naam the na woh sab badal!" he explained and chuckled, "Main to bas maze le raha hu humare Jai or Veeru ke kartuto dekh ke."

The other man didn't look too convinced but let it lie. He turned to face us

"Ap magazine wale ho na?"

"Ji me Jhanvi Sharma" I said holding out my hand. He shook it politely. Next he turned to Nakul, who for once didn't bounce over at the opportunity to flirt.

He waved a hand vaguely.  
"Nakul Shrivastava."  
He clearly wasn't interested in the fourth man.

"Main hu Fredricks, yaha ka ek or honhar officer" he sighed, glaring across at Pankaj who just smiled at him, "or yeh ek bacha hai, iske baato pe yakeen karke kuch mat likhna apne magazine pe." Pankaj started giggling while we nodded.

"Apne baro ki izzat karo, ACP sir ka order hota hai Pankaj" snorted Fredricks, who looked to me, was older than all the others. I smiled to myself as Pankaj scratched his neck. You could tell that under all the ribbing they got on well. I could even tell there was no venom in Daya as we could hear him yelling at the other man, who probably is Abhijeet somewhere out of sight. Suddenly he came back into view, clutching something small in his hand and muttering under his breath. Abhijeet appeared behind him, with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

"Yar tune Vivek ka number kis naam se save kiya?" asked Daya, still fussing over the tiny device.

"Milky bar," he replied. Daya turned around and stood, one hand on hip, glaring at him. Nakul and I exchanged glances. I knew gave Nakul a warning look, he might just start flirting the men when they are in such situation.

"Yar woh kitna gora hai!" protested Abhijeet shrugging his shoulders, enjoying his best friends growing annoyance.

"Tu pagal hai yaar, teri lila apram paar" groaned Daya, rolling his eyes as he put the phone to his ear and waited for it to dial.

"Ap jo samjhe, ab zyada pagal mat ho, yeh ek phone hi to hai," mumbled Abhijeet, scuffing his foot on the carpet. Suddenly he did a double take at Nakul and I.  
"Ap log?"

I was getting tired of repeating myself.  
"Jhanvi Sharma," I said, "The reporter from GlamGoss."

"Sir, yeh apke saath giri thi yaha pe" chipped in Pankaj. Daya raised his eyebrow.

"Oh woh tum thi?" Abhijeet laughed, "Mujhe laga pankaj ka pair fas gaya shayad. Sorry!"

What do you say in response to that? Thank you for calling me too thin? Luckily I didn't have to say anything as he continued.

"Wese to adat larkiyo ke mere upar girne ki hai!" He finished by wiggling his eyebrows a bit. I tried not to let my mouth hang open. Abhijeet was just as well defined as Daya, if not slightly better. Don't roll your eyes at me I know they're CID officers, but they have such different styles it's easy to forget that sometimes. I mentally slapped myself. Bad girl Jhanvi, wrong pick. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Nakul bouncing on the spot trying to attract Abhijeet's attention to introduce himself. He would whinge to me later about it if I didn't help him out, so I started off for him.

"Or yeh mera dost or is interview ka photographer, Nakul," I explained to Abhijeet.

"Hello handsome!" grinned Nakul, bounding forward to stand directly in front of Abhijeet holding out a hand. The expression on Abhijeet's face was priceless; somewhere in between scared and terrified. Gingerly, almost as if it would electrocute him, Abhijeet shook Nakul's hand. I looked over at Daya who was watching Abhijeet, grinning sadistically at his discomfort. His eyes shifted over until they met with mine and he gave me a look that said something along the lines of 'This is going to be interesting'. There was something so enchanting about the officers and I could see now why they captured the front pages of magazines and newspapers. They good looking, and they are the saviours of our town. Good girl Jhanvi, right pick. I gave a little nod of my head. Nakul turned around and bounced back to stand beside me. While he wasn't looking Abhijeet shuffled over to Daya, as if hoping to use him as a shield should Nakul get over zealous.

"Thik hai," announced Daya taking the phone from his ear, "Nakul and Jhanvi, right?"

We both nodded.

"Okay. Hume ACP sir ke order mutabik ap dono ke saath ek din ka interview karenge. Kyuki mere pyare dost Abhijeet ne mere phone ki band bajadi isliye me apne or sare officers ko phone karke abhi bulaunga. Thora time lagega. Is that a problem?" he asked, concerned.

"Nope, that's fine," I replied, "Aj humara sara schedule ap logo ke saath hi hai. Humare Editor ne bhi yeh instruction diye the ki hum ap logo ke saath pure din spend kare until the end."

"Thats great," grinned Daya. I willed my legs to stay upright as they threatened to turn to jelly at the sight of that smile. "Main ek baat soch raha tha ki…"

Pankaj coughed loudly.

"_Hum _soch rhe the …" corrected Daya, " Ap logo ko koi problem to nehi hogi na. Hume kabhi bhi emergency me report karna hoga. ACP sir ne kaha hai ki ap har ek minute hume cover karenge. Is that safe for you two?" I looked at Nakul for a second before looking back at Daya.

"Ji haan, hum ese trained hai ki hum kisi bhi remote area me jake coverage kar sakte hai. Hume koi problem nehi hogi!"

"Thik hai fir. Agar sab kuch shant raha then we have the photo shoot first, wherever you want Nakul,fir hum sab coffee ke liye chalenge, somewhere and have a bit of a question session. Pankaj ka plan hai ki hum koi movie wagarah me chale. Taki magazines parte wakt sab yeh na samjhe hum retirement se pehle hi boring ho chuke hai!" At that three men began laughing hysterically.

"Humara ek or officer hai, Vivek woh bhi ata hi hoga. Usne suggest kiya tha ki hum sab bowling karne chale, Abhijeet Sir to bhot acha bowling karte hai," added Pankaj. Abhijeet nodded with a smug grin as if to confirm it.

"Woh to dekh lenge. Chalo thik hai fir! Plan ke according chalte hai dekhte hai cover kar pate hai kya koi case samne se ake bowling ka plan bigar deta hai!" Daya finished. Just then a woman appeared around the corner carrying a big box. Abhijeet tapped Daya on the shoulder and pointed at her.

"Great," he chirped. He began to skip down towards her like a kid that's had too much sugar.

"Yar yeh girl friend to nehi?" asked Nakul silently, seemingly baffled.

"Ji nehi, Daya sir abhi single hai!" sniggered Pankaj. Nakul can never keep himself silent enough to not being over heard.

Daya darted his eyes towards us with a disapproving look.


	5. Flirting and Bleeding

**Okay guys just and just for you my super speed writing is up...please have some reviews for me as a reward! I'd feel lot better! thank you so so much for reading! Lots of love!**

Nakul, who despite his scatterbrained appearance, was very conscientious about his work and had disappeared off to find somewhere appropriate to have to photo shoot. Pankaj told me to stick close to him that he'd keep me safe from 'horny'. 'Horny' being his term of endearment for Inspector Kavin, to which Kavin replied that Pankaj was just as bad as he was. At that point, just as I was getting ever so slightly scared, Fredricks stepped in, apologised on their behalf and yelled at them to grow up. I was grateful for this, but hoped that Nakul would get back soon. I wasn't used to being in the company of so many straight guys.

We joined Daya in his room while he got everyone's guns fully loaded. I wondered why they need their gun at times like this. I then thought that now was as good a time as any to start the faux interviewing. I took a seat on the dressing table, my legs resting on a chair as I spoke to Daya so that he wouldn't have to turn to face me and get slightly irritated by me.

"Ap humesha ready rehte hai koi bhi action ke liye?" I asked, taking the notebook out of my pocket and clicking my pen.

"Jab bhi mouka milta hai hum sab apne guns load kar lete hai. Koi bharosa nei kab kya ho jai! Humare dost kam dushman zyada hai is duniya me. Ap to samajhti hi hai na?" he grinned.

I nodded with a smile and continued.  
"Kya ap kabhi thakte nehi? Ese difficult zindagi se?"

He looked to the ceiling as he thought for a moment.  
"Is duniya me log koi maqzad pura karne ke liye paida hote hai, koi life me kuch bara banne ke liye, koi pyar karne ke liye. Main logo ko surakshit zindagi jine ke liye paida hua hu! Or yeh meri duty hi nehi passion hai! Or jo bhi meri madad karta hai woh mera dost ban jata hai…"

"Jese ki main! Iska sabse acha dost" Abhijeet said coyly,

"Iska matlab yeh nehi hai ki aj tumne mere phone ke saath jo bhi kiya me maaf kar dunga" sulked Daya, "Isliye Tarika ko patao, mujhe nehi!"

"Doctor Tarika? Apki girlfriend hai kya woh?" I pressed Abhijeet, scribbling things down to look legit.  
"NEHI! YAAR DAYA YEH ZARURI THA KYA BOLNA?! Kuch bhi mat likhna magazine me yeh sab...hum bas ache dost hai!" Abhijeet looked terrified. Daya grinned to himself as he settled all the guns. I quickly scratched what I wrote.

"Daro mat likho bindass likho iske bare me…ABHIJEET MERA PHONE KO MAT CHUNA!" he yelled suddenly, watching his friend's reflection in the mirror, his face like thunder.

"Main isko thik karna chahta tha yar!" he protested like a child.

"Haan mujhe pata hai!" scoffed Daya, "Vapas wahi rakh!"

I couldn't help but giggle, they were like a comedy act. Abhijeet grumbled and set the phone back where he'd picked it up on the bedside table. I scribbled down his answer on my notebook. A pang of some unknown emotion made my stomach flip a little. Was it guilt that I would never need the information that I was writing down? I couldn't tell, and decided to push it to the back of my mind and soldier on.

"Apko apne ghar ki yaad nehi ati?" I asked.

"Pehle pehle bhot ati thi, ab to CID hi meri parivaar hai. Abhijeet, ACP Sir, sab apne hi hai. Kabhi mehsus nehi hota ki main satrah saalo se bureau me kaam karta hu. Me bhot khushnaseeb hu ki mujhe itne ache dost mile hai. Nehi to is tarah ke job me settle hona itna asan nehi!" he finished with a smile. I nodded to show that I'd heard him and scribbled more gibberish down on my notepad. To anyone else the things on my notebook must look like utter mindless rubbish, because whatever way my brain worked, I was the only one who could understand my sketch notes. I scratched absently at my ankle while I thought of another question. I looked around the room and stifled a giggle as I clocked Pankaj who looked as if he had fallen asleep in his chair.

"Wese ap media me bhot famous hai. Larkiyo ke liye ap bhot chahide hai. Apko pata bhi hai?"

"Mujhe to yeh bhi nehi pata hi main famous or chahida hu. Newspaper me parta rehta hu par kabhi socha nehi tha ki mini celebrity ban chukka hu!'"

"Jhoot kyu bol raha hai! Balo me jel kya Freddy ko dikhane ke liye lagata hai?" interrupted Abhijeet from the bed.

Daya rolled his eyes before continuing.  
"Yeh jalan ke wajah se bol rha hai. Wese iski bhi charche bhot aam hai humare sheher…"  
He trailed off mid sentence.  
"Kya hua Sir?" I prompted.

"Tumhare pair...se khoon nikal raha hai," he said simply, watching my ankle like a hawk. I looked down quickly and cursed myself. I must have lifted the scab when I scratched it by accident.

"Shit," I mumbled, reaching down and sliding my jeans up a fraction to inspect the damage.

"Haww! Yeh kiska khoon kiya tumne?" mused Kavin, peering over Abhijeet's shoulder.

"Pata nehi, woh aj subah hi hua tha, mujhe mere glasses ke bina kuch nehi dikhta" I explained, hoping they wouldn't pry to much more. I didn't really want to get into the reasoning behind shaving my legs.

"Itni tayyar hoke ayi ho, mere liye?" suggested Kavin with a chuckle. I couldn't tell if this was an attempted flirt, or just Kavin being the Kavin the magazines loved to portray. Pankaj woke up immediately.

"Tere liye?" cried Pankaj in mock outrage, "Chalna. Itne tayyar to log mere liye hote hai."

The testosterone in the room was beginning to smother me. I wanted Nakul back. I thanked the gods as just then he walked through the door.

"Actually, yeh ap logo ke liye nehi" he smirked. "Yeh to Daya Sir ke tayyar hui hai!"

Okay I take it back. Nakul can fuck off. I could feel the colour rise up my neck and into my face from the embarrassment.

"Wese uski galti nehi hai," he continued, "Main bhi Daya Sir ke liye tayyar hoke aya hu."

The room laughed, Daya's the loudest of all and I could tell it was forced. His cheeks had also gone a shade of pink, but I chalked that up to Nakul's last comment. Everyone then fell into an awkward silence. Nakul coughed loudly. The girl came in that appeared a moment ago came back to the room.

"Sir team sab yahi hai. Hi Jhanvi, main Purvi hu. Agar apko lage ke yeh larke apke dimag kharab kar rhe hai to me hu apke saath!" Atleast I have required companion after such a long time.

"Thank you Purvi ji!" I smiled

"Me bhi to hu na tere saath Jhanvi?" pouted Nakul. Purvi laughed.

"Humare company me rehna Jhanvi, hum tumhe bore bilkul nehi karenge," Abhijeet said and darted his look at Purvi, making her eyebrows furrow a bit.

"Of course," cooed Purvi sarcastically, packing her things together. She leant down and whispered, "Pagal ho jaogi in sab ke saath. Gun powder bhi interesting hai insab se!" and laughed.

"Okay bhot ho gya larai jhagra!" cried Daya suddenly, standing up in his chair and reaching across the dressing table he picked up a tissue from the box and offered it to me, "ye lelo, for the cut."

I took it with a thank you and mopped up the blood around the cut. It was barely a scratch, so why must it be such a bloody nuisance and bleed so much?

"Wese tum logo ke wajah se ek din humara off hai. Hum photo shoot ke liye ja kaha rahe hai?" Abhijeet packed his black bag. He looked so touristy. Everyone is looking touristy actually. Who'd believe they fight crimes. They look so relaxed at the moment. Just because of us. Wow!  
"Maine Great Island Amusement park ke tickets book kiye hai," said Christian, bouncing on the spot in anticipation. There was a good amount of agreemens and joy among them.

"Oh hume bache banne parenge?" Pankaj looked confused. I rolled my eyes.

Everyone laughed


	6. Amusement in the Amusement Park

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I made a point of yelling at Nakul whenever I got the opportunity in the lift, while the other got ready.

"You didn't _have_ to tell him about the leg thing!" I hissed. I didn't like to be embarrassed, but then again who does?

"You don't have time to be embarrassed, or shy around this guy beta. We're about ten hours and counting before this is all over and he's back in his bureau, we have to get him preferably _with_ you. You're going to have to swallow you're shyness and make an effort to flirt as much and as often as possible without scaring him. Don't worry. Main teri help karunga."

I shuddered at those last words. I wasn't keen on seeing just how far Nakul would be willing to go to "help" me.

When we got to the Amusement park Nakul took lots of shots of the team. He got them to pose 'moody' and 'troubled' which they had down to a tee. The amusement park turned out to be the perfect setting because, after all, these guys were enjoying themselves, in spite of being the mighty cops. And I'm not talking mentally either, because that has been more than apparent over the last hour or so. I checked the team and thought Purvi and Nikhil was missing. They must have gone to report the bureau or something. So we are left with eight of us. Something tugged at my sleeve.

"Didi didi! CID uncle hai na, hum yaha khel sakte hai na?" asked a little girl with beautiful eyes and hair pulled into French plaits, "Mein or mera bhai bhot der se yaha wait kar rhe hai!"

It's barely been ten minutes, but kids will be kids and she's exceptionally cute. I crouched down to her level.

"Ha kyu nehi ap kheliye! yeh bhot ache hai! Hum to yaha magazine se aye hai!" I explained.

"Konsa magazine?" asked a boy that was standing behind her.

"GlamGoss magazine, apki mummy parti hongi," I shrugged.

The little girl piped up again.  
"Meri mummy kehti hai GlamGoss bare gande larkiyo ke magazine hai. Ap gande larki ho?"

Part of me wanted to burst out laughing, the other part was glaring at her for suggesting that I was a part of what she is criticizing.

"Gande larkiya to parna hi nehi janti na, woh kese parengi?" asked the boy, "Chal Sweta khelne chalte hai."

"Ha ap log magazines ko maro goli or jake khelo," I suggested trying to keep a straight face. The girl stared blankly at me for a few moments.

"Bye didi!" she waved and grabbed the hand of the boy.

"Woh bachi bhot pyari hai. Apki behen hai kya?" asked someone behind me. I turned to face Daya, who looked to have been released from Nakul's clutches.

"Nehi, par bhot... pyari hai!" I sighed, standing upright, "Wese to humare magazine ki burayi karke gayi hai. Fir bhi!" I laughed, he tagged along.

I looked back to the jungle gym, where Nakul was jumping around Fredy, yelling things.  
"Emotion Fredy Sir Emotion!... Apne pose me emotion lao!...Gun ko parallel pakro or emotion lao Hero wali!"

Pankaj was trying to see if he could still get into the baby swings.

"Nakul aj pitne wala hai," sniggered Vivek, "Fredy sir se emotion mang rha hai. Emotion sach me agaya to wahi Gun se shoot kar denge!"

Oh this one's brainy. Sherlock would be so proud.

"Par Nakul bhi ek bandook se kam nehi," I assured, "Koi uske saath ek raat guzarle bas! Maut ki missile bhi choti pare!" I laughed.  
Pankaj laughed, then paused, as if considering the likelihood of that occurring.

"Sach kahu to mujhe use thora to dar lagta hi hai," whispered Daya, leaning down to my ear so that I was the only one who could hear him. It was the usual reaction. To most people Nakul was too in your face. But over time he grew on you, whether you liked it or not.

"Sab apse darte hai or ap mere dost se darte ho?" I asked cheekily. Daya smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Ap bhi mujhse darti hain?"

I smiled at him, trying to be flirtatious as Nakul had suggested, but knowing my luck it had come out as some sort of grimace.  
"Of course not."

"Good," he said with a nod of his head and a smiled, "mujhe bilkul acha nehi lagega agar ap mujhe dare to."

Oh? Was he flirting back at me? Yay! Score one for Jhanvi. Just then Nakul yelled over.

"Okay, abhi Pankaj ji ki bari!"

Pankaj, who had been trying to free himself from the baby swing, which he had gotten stuck in, called out.  
"Nehi mein yehi thik hu!"  
"Nehi ap next ho! Daya Sir ap pehle ayiye na please!"  
I could feel Daya freeze up beside me.

Nakul whirled over to us and called at Daya.  
"Invitation chahiye apko?" he teased, pausing whilst everyone, except Daya, laughed, "But don't worry Pankaj ji. You're next."

Pankaj's smirk instantly faded, and he began struggling even harder to get out of the swing. I assumed he was trying to get his feet back on the ground so he could have the option of running should Nakul get over keen. Kavin walked over to try help him out of the swing but Pankaj was protesting that he could manage on his own. Kavin wasn't listening to him and the two bickered, Kavin fighting his attempts to lift Pankaj out. Suddenly the swing tipped and both went sprawling into a tangled heap on the ground.

"Wow romantic!" cried Nakul excitedly, running over to them and taking photos. Pankaj and kavin leapt apart faster than lightening, springing to their feet and bracing themselves to run to the hills of the amusement park, both with purely terrified looks on their faces. Daya had to sit down on the floor he was laughing so hard, even Abhijeet had cracked his face and was chuckling from where he was sitting at the bottom of the slide. Nakul was grinning smugly; apparently pleased at the reaction he had on them. Then he turned to where Daya and I were and held up his camera.

"I'm waiting Daya Sir!"

I heard Daya whimper ever so slightly. I offered out a hand to help him up from the ground which he accepted. On his feet, he began to brush himself down.

"Kuch laga hai kya piche?" he asked turning around. Do my ears deceive me? I am being given a perfectly legitimate excuse to ogle his rear end? Someone up there loves me. I inspected it. Nice, and dirt free might I add.

"Nope no dirt," I confirmed and he smiled.

"Acha agar woh kuch… zyada dostana ho gaya, ap bachane aogi na?" he pleaded, raised his eyebrow in a pouty manner. I tried not to drool.

"Don't worry," I replied, unable to say anything more as my brain had grounded to an almost complete standstill.

He grinned again and walked over to Nakul, where he proceeded to sit on a swing and look 'moody' and 'troubled' again. When he was finished we watched Pankaj try to mask his unease around Nakul as he posed for some photos.

"Emotion!" urged Nakul.

"Agar usne firse emotion kaha," grumbled Fredy, "Main use bhot pitunga."

Abhijeet sighed.  
"Apni energy barbad kyu karoge Fredy. Use ulta maza ayega."

There was a pause, then the three of us burst out laughing. Maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	7. Merry Go Round!

**Another Chapter's up! Review soon guys! Thanks for tagging along with me!**

After growing up with two younger brothers, you think Jhanvi would be wise as to how to watch herself in the company of males wouldn't you? You'd assume that I wouldn't do anything to provoke an immature reaction. I thought so too. Since I knew they are nothing but very interesting team of Police having their wonderful time in an amusement park. Well you'd assume wrong. I'm such a dunce sometimes. Looking for a place to sit while Nakul annoyed the guys further, insisting that he needed 'spontaneous' photos of them having fun around the park, I choose to sit at a miniature version of a merry-go-round with little metal seats. Now was _that_ a mistake. I didn't even notice Pankaj and Kavin creeping up.

Now I'm holding on for dear life as they run around, holding opposite ends of the contraption, spinning me in a dizzying and seemingly never ending circle. My knuckles were white as I gripped onto the rusty handles, trying to concentrate on three things; keeping my glasses on, keeping my breakfast down and most importantly, keeping my dignity.

I let out an involuntary scream which was immediately drowned out by the guys laughter, even Nakul, who was supposed to be on my team had joined in the teasing, and was even taking pictures. Pankaj, and also Kavin contrary to his photograph face, were grinning, the only faces not blurred as they moved at the same time as me, spinning me around faster and faster until I had no other option but to shut my eyes and pray that they would stop soon.

"CHOR DO MUJHE PLEASE!" I squealed for the umpteenth time. Peeking out though my right eye I saw a blurry Daya, Abhijeet, Fredy and Nakul, all bent double with laughter. They won't be laughing when I vomit. No, scratch that, I can't vomit in front of Daya. It's very much a turn off. Finally Nakul's voice piped up.

"Yaar maza to bhot hai Jhanvi ko satane me," interjected Nakul, "Par yar hume uski baat man leni chahiye, woh Vomit Queen hai humare group ki."

I would have to congratulate Nakul later on such a graceful choice of words with words like BC, MC, etc etc. Slowly, Pankaj and Kavin stopped their pushing and the little merry-go-round began to grind to a halt. I took in a deep breath, and uncurled my fingers. I wanted to get of the little craft before they decided that hurling Jhanvi would be funnier than not hurling Jhanvi. Shakily, I stepped off, hoping that I wouldn't be too dizzy.

"You alright?" called over Nakul as he and the others walked towards me, giggling at my cautious and dainty steps. Despite the incessant spinning I had been subjected to, I seemed to be alright.

But I had thought too soon. The earth shifted violently beneath me, or so it felt, and instinctively, I reached out to grab something before the ground came up to meet me. What I grabbed didn't seem to do the trick and the inevitable ensued. Twisting my body, so that I wouldn't smash my glasses, I landed on my back with a thud. Luckily the floor of the playground was made of soft wood chips and wasn't painful. However, the thing I had grabbed had landed on top of me and wasn't exactly made of cotton candy either. A winded grunt emitted from the thing I had grabbed.

Oh shit.

I flung back my eyelids to stare into a pair of very confused and surprised brown eyes. If I had thought I was dizzy before, I was so very wrong. Out of everyone there I had managed to grab Daya and was surprised how he couldn't balance it and was now lying on top of me, his face dangerously close to mine. I knew I had to be forward with him but this was pushing it a tad. A few painfully awkward seconds ticked past as we looked at each other. I was fully aware that everyone else's eyes were glued to us.  
"Sir, ap log thik to hai na?" Asked someone.  
"Shit, sorry," I blurted, "I didn't mean… Main… Ek minute."

That's when everyone else started to roar with laughter. A pink hue tainted Daya's cheeks, under the layer of dirt that was caused by the fall.

"Tum thik ho na? Kuch tuta to nehi na?" he asked shyly.

"Surprisingly, no!" I managed to laugh in reply, hoping to break the awkwardness between us. He chucked a little as he propped himself up and crawled backwards off me.

"Apne Daya sir ko gira diya...waah!" sighed Pankaj, as Daya got to his feet and dusted himself off before extending a hand to help me to my feet. I accepted and clambered to my feet. Daya shot Pankaj a sly grin and said, "Chup reh."

"Yar gir kese gaya, Jhanvi ji kitni patli hai" chipped in Abhijeet, "ACP Sir se baat krni paregi. Teri dieting thik nehi chal rhi hai!"

"ACP sir bhot khush nehi honge" retorted Pankaj.

Daya shrugged and grinned, "Chup raho yar! Had hoti hai! Me to use sambhal raha tha...main yar.."

"Ha ha hum samajh gaye. Hum bhot hoshiyar hai!," sighed Abhijeet wistfully which wiped the grin right off Daya face, making him take a step away from Abhijeet and closer to his Fredy.

I preened at myself, sweeping away all the little wood chips that had were still stuck to me. If I remembered correctly next on our itinerary was a trip to the coffee house. The nearest one was only a few blocks away so we made a decision to just walk. Daya said it might not be safe so requested for a taxi, but had been outvoted and had gone into a huff. He walked behind the group, running a brush though his hair to rid it off it's volume so that he could hide it under a hat. He then adorned a pair of overly large sunglasses, something that I noticed Abhijeet had also done. I felt a little sorry for them, having to at least attempt a disguise before they went out to face the general public. It had to get annoying after a while.

"I'm impressed," whispered Nakul as we walked along, leading the procession to the Coffee house.

"About what?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"The stunt with Daya, it almost looked as though it was an accident!"

"Woh accident hi tha!," I said. He did a double take.

"_Seriously_?"

I nodded.

"Well then honey," he laughed, "It's a good thing you're accident prone then isn't it?"

I glowered. I wasn't accident prone. Okay, maybe I was a _little_.

The journey went passed in a blur. Daya had given up being moody at the back of the group and had managed to get into an argument with Abhijeet. From the snippets of conversation I could hear, it was over the last case they'd solved. One thing I learned from my eavesdropping was that both best friends were as stubborn as mules. I pity the rest of the team with them when they're on mission.

"Yar jo tu kahe, main to humesha galat hi hu na!," sighed Abhijeet eventually, signaling that he was sick of the fighting with his best friend.

Daya perked up, convinced that Abhijeet's refusal to continue the argument was in some way his victory.

"Main humesha sahi hota hu!" he concluded with a huff.

When we arrived at the Coffee house, we were thankful that it was almost empty. We lined up at the till and placed out orders. Abhijeet and Daya both ordered Cappuccino's, Nakul got a frappachino, Fredy went with a simple espresso and patty. Pankaj took a mochachino and Kavin had a latte. I as usual, had a Vanilla Latte. I lived off those things. Abhijeet and Daya then argued over who would pay, which I thought pretty stupid seeing as though a measly 2500 rupees or so wouldn't even go noticed on their credit card bills considering they had to be loaded. I'll add, to give them credit for their chivalry, they both wanted to pay.

We left them to it, in the hands of a baffled and slightly scared looking employee at the till, since he immediately recognised the team CID. We took a little corner of Coffee house to ourselves, moving big comfy chairs around a table so everyone would be seated together. When the best friends returned, Abhijeet's aura of 'smug' had increased tenfold; he had paid for the coffee.

A few minutes later a young and scatterbrained looking girl came over, carrying our drinks on a tray. As if the guys didn't need their ego boosted any more, she set the coffee down in such a way that she leaned over to the table and exposed her cleavage to Pankaj. Daya rolled his eyes very overdramatically as Pankaj proceeded to flirt a little with her.

The girl giggled – a lot – and was twirling her ponytail around her finger. Kavin was pulling faces at Pankaj behind her, crossing his eyes and poking out his tongue which made everyone, except Daya, Pankaj and the girl, crack up.

"Yar yeh sab drama humesha chalta rehta hai kya?" asked Nakul with a grimace.  
"Tum soch bhi nehi sakte kya kya hota hai yaha," moaned Daya and Fredy simultaneously.


	8. The Bickerings and Disco lights!

**This is truly amazing! All of you really are great! Thank you so much for such lovely comments. Aditi, yaar read on, Tarika and other female members are like the icings of the cake! They will totally be up in my next chapter! There's going to be a lot of fun! I promise. Till then enjoy...oh and again Thanks a bunch for reading :)**

"Ap sab tayyar ho?" I breathed out, checking around the faces of the group, checking to see if I had everyone's attention. They all settled with matching grin. My notebook was back out and I held the pen above the page ready to ask the questions which I had hastily scribbled down in the morning on the way to the hotel.  
"Abhijeet Sir or Daya Sir se pehla sawal, ap dono ko kesa lag raha hai 17 saal CID me ek saath bitane me?"

The best friends exchanged glances and I could see something was bound to be going on. Telepathy maybe. They are really good friends. Knowing everything about each other.

"Yeh to batana mushkil hai," shrugged Daya, "Jitna hum ek dusre ko jaante hai. We've always been close and…"

"Hindi me bol," interrupted Abhijeet, causing Daya to glower to no-one and snap his mouth closed, he started again with a shy smile "Ji to me keh raha tha ki hum shayad larte hai, humari personalities shayad alag alag hai, humari choices alag hai isiliye shayad hum opposites hai. Par saath me bhot acha lagta hai ki koi acha dost saath me ese critical waqt par; aur mujhe pata hai hume koi alag nehi kar sakta, bahar ke logo ke liye shayad CID ek aam police ki naukri lage, par mere liye yeh mere jine ka zariya hai. Shayad yeh baat ap sab ko betuke lage. Par me apne ghar ko shayad isliye itna miss nehi karta kyuki mera dost Abhijeet mere saath hai. Jo ki ek bhai ke tarah meri khayal rakhta hai." Daya paused and I could see tears coming in his eyes. I looked at Nakul who at the moment was smiling in appreciation.  
"Daya tu bhot pagal hai! Hum bhot larte hai or bhot galtiya bhi karte hai, ek dusre se cheese chupate bhi hai! Maine to bhot galtiya ki hai! Par Daya nei humesha mujhe maaf kiya hai! Ab pata nehi kya hota hai CID ke baad. Par itna to tay hai ki hum humesha saath rahenge. Two best friends! Kabhi ek dusre se muh nehi morenge!" Abhijeet added while patting Daya's shoulder. Daya smiled. All of sudden someone started humming "Yeh dosti hum nehi torenge". I looked over and saw Pankaj grinning. We all chuckled heartily. I could completely relate to Abhijeet and Daya's situation. For me Nakul is the shoulder to cry, the only best friend of my life since I finished my graduation. I can never get over the fact that I'd be working separately from him. I don't think I would be able to take risks like these if he wasn't supporting me like a brother. I trailed my thoughts by angling my questions towards the other three members.

"Ap logo ko kesa lag rha hai yu saath me kam karke?"  
Fredy was the first to talk.  
"Main in sab ke saath bhot time se hu, Shayad 10 saal se zyada hi. Yeh bhot mushkil career hai, kisi ke liye bhi. Par yeh jo humare" He looked over the duos. "Jai or Veeru, inke lariyo ne hume yeh mehsus hone nehi diya ki hum apne zindagi ke sabse bari chunauti ka samna karte roz. Jab hum koi case solve karte hai hum kabhi koi na koi party ya trip pe jate hai celebrate karne ke liye. Mujhe yaad hai jab hum Goa me gaye the. Hume pata tha ki ACP sir bhot tired ho gaye the case solving se. Par fir bhi humne tour kiya Goa. Hum kaam ke saath saath apne kaam ko enjoy bhi karte hai. Isliye kyuki hum saath hai! Kabhi kabhi me bhi koi case apne ap solve kar leta hu. Tab to or bhi maza ataa hai!"

"Ji to ap yeh batane ka kast karenge ki apne esa case kab solve kiya...Khudhi?" smirked Abhijeet. This led to another round of bickering. I was laughing most of the time. I didn't bother writing anything at the time. It was useless anyway.

"Apko kya lagta hai Kavin Sir, Ap to new group se hai, haina?" I inquired to the man in black leather jacket who was looking off out the window of the coffee house in a daze. He looked around, seemingly baffled that he was being addressed.

"Huh?"  
"Firse Purvi ke bare me soch raha hai yeh pagal!" Abhijeet cracked up with others. Kavin blushed immediately.

"Nehi nehi, sir!" He started gazing at hands resting on the table with a shy grin.  
", Ap to new group se hai, haina? Apko kya lagta hai?" I repeated for his benefit. He gave me a strange look, as though he'd never been asked a direct question before. Then, he began to smile a little.

"Well, jese Fredy sir ne kaha humari life me bhot muskhil ati hai. Kabhi kabhi lagta hai ki kisi bhi samay meri maut ho sakti hai. Koi bharosa nehi. Par fir jab me bureau me ata hu insab se milta hu, wapas apne ghar me jata hu. Esa lagta hi ki mujhe ek nayi zindagi mil gayi hai. Nirdosh logo ko bachake unke akhon me woh khushi dekhke esa lagta hai ki mere naye zindagi ka maksad pura ho raha hai. Or baat rahi humare CID ke do mazboot bahon ka. Abhijeet Sir or Daya Sir ke nokjhok, dosti bhot achi lagti hai. Kabhi kabhi to me yeh sochta hu ki kahi yeh dono ke apas me dimagi baate chalti hai kya? Kyu ki action ke time dono barabar sochte hai."

"Dimagi baate! Pagal khane bhej do tum sab" cried the best friends simultaneously, with exactly the same intonations in their voices. Neither one seemed phased by the identical outburst of the other.

"Ab samjhi me kya keh raha hu, dono ka jawab bhi humesha ek hota hai!" laughed Kavin. We all laughed.

I was glad that I had learned short hand, otherwise I would have broken down with all the writing that I was having to do on that little notebook. Anyone else would have had the sense to bring a Dictaphone but of course, common sense is one thing that I lack. Satisfied that the question had been answered, I moved on.

"Acha to retirement ka kya plan hai ap dono ka?"

As I had predicted Abhijeet jumped straight in almost before I'd finished the question.  
"Dekho exact time table to banake koi nehi rakhta par mujhe pata hi ki me kisi ke saadi me to nachne wala hu. Shadi karwane ka zimma mene uthaya hai us insaan ka!" He darted his eyes at Daya, who immediately shifted his gaze to his coffee with a frustrated sigh. I stifle a laugh.

And so the interview continued. Abhijeet took the lead in most questions, his answers long winded and focusing mainly on himself. Okay so he was vein, could you blame him? I'd be vein too if I had his talent, his looks and bubbly personality. On occasion Daya would reign him in, jumping into the conversation before his best friend got carried away. He also appeared to have a vendetta for him, constantly throwing in offensive and sarcastic comments directed at his fellow partner. Abhijeet gave as good as he got though and it was almost as comical to watch the light hearted spat between Daya and Abhijeet as it had been to watch two brothers fighting. Pankaj, bless him, didn't speak much. He seemed to be too polite to butt in with any remarks and patiently waited to be asked directly. But when I did manage to escape from the motor mouth of Abhijeet and get a question to him, his face would light up with a small smile as he answered.

When the last dregs of coffee had been drunk and my hand was thoroughly exhausted from all the short hand that I had been writing, the formal interviewing came to an end. Nakul looked as though he was losing the will to live, slowly sinking into his seat, fiddling with the straw of his iced coffee drink. The whole affair was too serious and dull for his liking and thus he'd gone into a mood.

"Interview abhi ke liye over, ab kya karenge?" I asked, slipping my notebook back into my pocket.

"Disc chale!" grinned Pankaj, clapping his hands together, his smile so big that he had to screw his eyes up. At the mention of his favourite hobby, Nakul immediately perked up.

"Haan haan chalo chalo," he cried, sitting up in his seat and slapping his hands down on his thighs before jumping to his feet eagerly, "Konse Dics chale?"

"Sabse safe disc yaha se challis minute ki duri main hai, woh bhot famous hai. Wahi chalte hai," commented Kavin with a laugh, the only one of five men who seemed to be able to tolerate Nakul. I chalked this up to the fact that mera Nakul sudhar gaya. Abhijeet and Daya looked slightly afraid of his overly camp attitude. Fredy, on the other hand looked as though he was fighting the urge to give him an almighty smack to the head. I made a mental note to keep Nakul out of his reach for the remainder of the day.

"Agar is baar tum logo ne Taxi hire nehi kiya…" began Daya with a threatening tone in his voice. Abhijeet clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Haan mere bhai, Tujhe taxi ke darwaje tor ne ki zarurat nehi, hum taxi hire karenge! Yeh disc yaha se dur hai!" he laughed. Just as he was about to get up there was a call in his phone. Everyone except Nakul and I perked up with a threatening glare.

"Daro mat, case nehi hai yeh. Tarika ka phone hai!" Abhijeet mentioned in a sigh. Everyone immediately loosened up. A grin immediately spreaded on Daya lips. Before Abhijeet could talk, Daya immediately snatched his phone from his clutch and got up from his seat. Abhijeet yelped in hurry and got up. "YAAR DEDE PHONE WAPAS!" Abhijeet threatened.

"ha hello! Tarika, haan me Daya bol raha hu!" Daya dodged Abhijeet's grasp and began talking.

"Haan yar woh yahi hai...Tum busy ho kya!"

"_Daya!" _Abhijeet hissed.

"Haan me yeh keh raha tha ki...usne tumhe bataya nehi? Hum Disc ja rhe hai!" Daya's evil smirk began to spread wider as he saw the horror in Abhijeet's face.

"Haan haan hum sab! Reporter Jhanvi or Nakul hai humare saath!"

Abhijeet froze on his track, I was thanking god for the crowd less coffee house. No one can afford to miss the bickering of CID officers in the middle of a coffee house, right?

There was a loud hiss on the other side of the phone and I could clearly make out the anger in Doctor Tarika's voice.

_"Daya tu gaya! __Tu dekh me kya karta hu!" _Abhijeet whispered in a hurry. Kavin and Pankaj both a huge grin plastered on their faces.

Daya continued, completely ignoring the angry glare of Abhijeet, "Haan, ajao. Maza ayega! Purvi ko bhi lete ana! Sachin or Rajat to hai hi Bureau samhalne ke liye!"

"Ha hai na, gun hai na mere pas!" Daya chuckled and looked at Abhijeet aiming at him with his right hand shaped into a gun. Abhijeet huffed and went out of the coffee house. We all trailed behind him with silence. They both have gun! We don't want to take any chance speaking non sense.

We decided to wait for the other two meet outside the Disc Hall. It was no trouble getting a fine radio taxi seeing as it was too early for the lunchtime rush. The difficulty came in seating arrangements.. There were three seats facing both directions, so everyone would get in no problem, it was making sure everyone was happy for the fifteen minute ride. Abhijeet had assaulted Daya, dragging him in first before Nakul got near the car, so that Abhijeet was at the far side at the window, with Daya seated in the middle to act like a barrier between him and any unwanted attention from Nakul. I found it particularly amusing that Abhijeet was using Daya as a shield, seeing that both of them fight like two magnets. The old saying 'better the devil you know' must have held some stead in this situation.

Kavin slid in next, opposite Abhijeet at the far side, and followed by Fredy. At this point Daya's face grew slightly pale as he realised there were only two possible candidates for the free seat beside him. He shot me a pleading glance, begging me silently with his chocolate eyes. Nakul clambered in, not before turning around and giving me a sly wink, out of sight of everyone else, and took the spare seat beside Fredy. It suddenly occurred to me that Nakul was using his overpowering personality to drive Daya towards me and for that, I would thank him. I took the last seat beside Daya, very willingly, and shut the door behind us all. With the taxi door closed behind us, so began the short fifteen or so minute journey into the inner City of Mumbai. It must have been, at least five minutes since the best friends last argued and as the car pulled out into the slow moving throng of traffic another one started up right on cue.

"Daya… seat belt," ordered Abhijeet.

"Yaar thori hi to dur hai," sighed Daya.

"To kya hua… Band seat belt mujhe nehi pata! Yeh bhot galat baat hai!"

"Ek to itni traffic jam hai upar se gari chal bhi nehi rahi dus minute se, yahi atki hui hai...mujhe nehi lagta seat belt zaruri!" Daya protested further, refusing to back down.

"Yar tu bacha hai kya, traffic jams me bhi accidents hoti hai mahashay ji!"

"Meri ma kaha fas gaya," groaned Daya with exasperation.

"Main jo keh raha hu wahi kar bas! Me fir kuch nehi kahunga," snapped Abhijeet irritably.

Throwing his hands up, Daya conceded and reached over his shoulder to grab the belt and pull it over his body. I was watching the world go past outside the window whilst this went on. I wasn't comfortable with arguments or the tension that arose and so ignored it by looking at the buildings outside. I was therefore a little surprised when I felt a hand brush at my rear end. Forward much? I turned slowly from the window. Daya was looking for the clip for the belt without thinking, or paying attention to where his hand was roaming.

I coughed.

Daya turned his head and I couldn't help but smile just a little as he withdrew his hand so fast you would have assumed he'd been burned. The pink hue was back on his high cheeks.

"Eh… Sorry…you…tum seat belt pe, baithi hui ho," he babbled. My eyes shifted quickly about the other faces in the car. Abhijeet had turned to look out the window, biting his lip to stifle a laugh or smart ass comment. Pankaj was picking at his nails while Kavin stared at his shoes letting the hood of his cap hide the smirk on his face. Nakul gave me a subtle wink.

I reached down to retrieve the clip for him. He took it with a mumbled 'thanks' before folding his arms and sliding low in the seat, trying to hide himself as much as possible by turning his face and watching out the window beside Abhijeet. The rest of the journey was pretty much silent.

"Ladies first," said Pankaj with a bow when we pulled up in front of the main entrance of the Club centre. I smiled, thinking it a gentlemanly gesture. I was much mistaken when, as I clambered out of the taxi as there was more than one wolf whistle thrown in my direction as I exposed the backside of my jeans to them. I felt my cheeks go red and the awkwardness consume me as I kicked myself for walking into that one. There was one thing that made me smile a little though. Daya.

"Pankaj tu kab sudhrega," he scolded, followed by a small thud which was probably the noise of Daya hitting him.

Daya was sweet, _real_ sweet. A pang of guilt hit my gut and the smile was wiped from my face as I remembered what I'd have to do to him. Today would be so much easier, not only on my conscience, but in general if he was a flirt like Pankaj or a bastard, because then I wouldn't feel so bad. I generally hope this turn out well enough for both of us. I don't know what else to say!


	9. Nachle Mahiya!

**Seriously guys, I cannot say this enough times, you're all amazing. ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews and such! *hugs everyone* and Aditi thank you so so so much girl! You are so awesome! I bet you'd love this one! I have been writing this chapter since morning so I really am looking forward to some really good comments. Daya Sir ji dance bhi karenge! So a big round of applause is needed! Anyways enjoy enjoy! **

Once in the complex, it was clear that everyone have to wait till the other crew reach, Tarika and Purvi. We stood outside the complex, right next to two security bouncers. They looked so scared they might just pee right there! Everyone recognizes CID so easily these days.

"Kya hua Saab, murder hua kya?" One asked with slight hesitation. Daya sighed loudly and looked away.

"Nehi!" Pankaj replied. Abhijeet looked stressed. Tarika would not be in one of her best moods for sure. She asked Daya for a gun, after all.

"Koi Criminal chupa hua hai kya Saab?" Another asked. Abhijeet flared his nose.

"Nehi!" Pankaj replied with a serious face.

"Illegal kaam dhanda chal raha hai kya yaha Saab?"

"Nehi!"Pankaj repeats.

"Toh koi drugs ka kuch lafra hai kya Saab?"

"Pankaj isko arrest kar ise CID ke stunts dekhna ka bhot shok ho rha hai," interrupted Abhijeet with a glare. Daya burst out laughing. Rest of us were struggling to keep a straight face. Kavin shook his head with a grin walked over to the ticket booth to book our tickets.

"Suna nehi tune, ab chup kar! Wese hi Sir bhot tension me or tension mat dila!" replied Pankaj with mock rage before following Kavin.  
I looked over at Daya who looked back at me and smiled sincerely. I smiled back with faint blush.

"Daya!" called Tarika after us, she paid the cab and rushed towards us. Purvi followed. She turned to Nakul and I.  
"Hi, Tarika!" She held her hand. We both introduced ourselves.  
"Daya? Kese ho?" She asked. Abhijeet was pouting most of the time. She was completely ignoring him.

"Don't worry, main thik hu, Mera sar kisine ab tak to nehi fora!" Daya grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.  
"Koi baat nehi! Ab me agyi hu. Kisi ne kuch bhi kiya to me use nehi chorungi!" She replied while shooting glares at a squirming Abhijeet. There was a slight pause.

"Yaar, I am sorry! Main tumhe batane hi wala tha!" Abhijeet began.

"To bataya kyu nehi? Tum bataoge bhi kyu! Disc me mujhe chorke or bhi saare larkiya to hai hi!" She advanced towards Abhijeet slowly. Abhijeet gulped visibly. He took a step back. If glares could kill. Purvi started laughing.

"Ugh! Daya!" Abhijeet croaked. Daya shrugged. "Mere phone ko haath lagane ka anjam!" He laughed. "Chalo bacho, sab ander chalte hai!" Daya started dragging everyone, including a scared looking Abhijeet inside the main entrance of the club.

Once inside, Nakul linked arms with me and began to drag me away, much to my surprise, in the opposite direction from where everyone was heading to. As always, Nakul seemed to read me like some sort of book.  
"Don't worry, I'm not insane. Woh kehte haina duriya dilo me nasdeekiya lati hai!" he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. I blew a strand of hair from my face and looked around the club.  
My last experience of Disc was two, when I had been hauled through the cocktail section of the pub store, so today, no more cocktail, atleast infront of such fine cops. It was almost easy to forget what today was all about when I was trailing my eyes around the shining disco ball lights. The glamour of this place is more than astonishing.

Nakul, who has obsessions with disco music, was bobbing his head to the beats. He would find anyone in the Disco and begin his hip shaking; I wouldn't call it a dance. I had found a seat near the pub and I sat beside a boring looking couple.

Suddenly, too sudden in fact for my brain to fully grasp everything, a head appeared around my shoulder with a noisy 'boo!'. I don't remember screaming, but I guess that I did as about half the club, including the boring couple turned to look at me as I jumped backwards with my seat, away from the seemingly disembodied head, my heart in my mouth.

It took about five seconds for my brain to kick into action again and I found myself looking into the familiar face of Daya. Funnily enough, placing a name to the face did nothing to stop my racing heart, and I wasn't sure it was because of the fright any longer. I put my hand to my chest, as if it would help to calm the furious beating. A body appeared, as he stepped away in front of me. He was laughing so hard that he had to grab the table railing to keep himself up on his feet. I couldn't see him, but I could also hear Abhijeet's and Tarika's laughing somewhere in the immediate vicinity and thought that no-doubt they were probably the ones to blame for the prank.

My heart still raced on, my head felt light, and my body felt physically exhausted from the adrenalin that had left my body almost as quickly as it had appeared. From what I can guess must have looked still distressed because Daya laughter passed and a sympathetic look appeared on his heart shaped face.

"Are is tarah kya dekh rahi ho!" he groaned, "Yeh sara hua idea Abhijeet ka tha, tumhe darane ka!"

"Are!" protested Abhijeet, appearing from behind. He was holding Tarika's hand. She had a grin plastered.

"Bura laga kya Jhanvi? Sorry!" Daya pouted, looking genuinely so as he searched my face for forgiveness with his eyes. Without warning, he pulled my hand and squeezed it, the purpose of which I assumed was to make me feel better, but only sent my head reeling once more. His hand has completely engulfed my slender palm, and I observed how big his hands are. I smiled and got up. I went over and hugged him. He laughed silently and hugged back. Another purpose of making me feel better I suppose. In his embrace I could make out his scent. His scent was somewhat intoxicating. Not that it was so overpowering, because it wasn't, it was simply because it smelt so good. It was a hint of some well chosen and no doubt expensive cologne mixed in with the scent of freshly washed clothes. The moment which I wanted to freeze in time passed all too quickly as a cough caused Daya to abruptly break contact with me. Nakul was standing one hand on hip, glaring at him, tapping his foot impatiently on the glossy hard floor of the Ball.

"Ek to tumne use daraya, uper se use dabake jaan se mar rhe ho? Kya bigara kya hai meri dost ne tumhara!" he uttered, shaking his head.

"Ek minute darane wala plan Abhijeet ka tha!" he objected, "Or me kyu use dabaunga…" he mumbled, trailing off as he went through the sentence, "Abhijeet yeh tera plan tha na!"

Abhijeet just shook his head, clicking his tongue at Daya in a disapproving manner. Daya frowned and reached out his hand to slap his best friend around the face for not standing up for him. Abhijeet ducked, grinning with self satisfaction at annoying his tuff friend yet again.

"Acha ab larai khatam ho gyi ho to hum thora dance floor chal sakte hai? Bhot ache ache gane chal rahe hai Abhijeet!" Tarika interrupted by pulling Abhijeet with her. We all agreed. As we walked to the dance floor Nakul typed a message on his phone and passed it to me, as we were clearly in earshot of the others who walked beside us.

_'What did I tell you? Duriya dilo me nasdeekiya lati hai.'_

The dance floor was lit up with squares that changed color sporadically. There were guard rails around the areas of dance floor that were splatter painted with neon colors that glowed in the black lights. Booths around the walls allowed people to sit and drink in a more intimate setting. Heavy bass line pounded throughout the club as Tarika to the middle of the dancing floor with Abhijeet.

Abhijeet pulled Tarika towards and both began to sway with the music. Tarika started lipsing slightly with the words of the song. It looked a perfect atmosphere. I looked at Nakul who was too content to pick scared looking Pankaj and Kavin and danced with them.

"Salsa ataa hai tumhe Salsa?" Nakul kept asking them. They both avoided the question. I started chuckling at the situation. Everyone looked happy with the surrounding. Even Purvi and Fredy started to move with the rhythm of the entertaining music. I wasn't a born to dance kind of a person so I looked here and there finding a way to make my escape back to the seats. Just then someone pulled up in front of me. I looked up and saw the same eyes that made me shudder with nervousness.

"Kya hua?" Daya asked.

"Dance... Mujhe bilkul nehi ati dance!" I replied.

"Hum to CID wale hai! Hume konsa dance ata hai! Fir bhi hum situation ko enjoy to kar rhi rahe hai!" He gestured at Abhijeet and Tarika. I smiled ruefully.

"Toh dance ki jiye!" I said with a slight flirt. He raised his eye brow a little. He backed a bit from me and into the front floor.

"Watch and see!" He said and nodded to Kavin and Pankaj who immediately slid next to him. Abhijeet and Tarika started wooting for them. I looked at Nakul for some clue, but he was as clueless as I am.

As Daya stood between the other boys, he nodded towards with a knowing grin. The three men made sure the circle was wide enough for them and went into a breaking move, kicking their feet in a top rock display, one leg crossing over the other and circling before dropping down on the other sides, their arms holding them aloft. As the other two repeated the move, Daya slid along the ground, kicking his leg and twirling to swing up into a handstand. He spun around with his arms fully extended, his legs wildly in a move that resembles the move called 1990. I don't know but I was mesmerized at his dancing skills. He was probably showing me all these moves. But everyone else was enjoying it too. He swung his feet back down and used his momentum to jump into backward tuck. After landing on his feet, three of them were instantly on the ground again, this time spinning in a circle on their back, their legs spread wide apart in a windmill. Kavin came out of the rotation first and ended with an air chair, his elbow bent into his side holding him up, his head lifted and legs pointed to the ceiling.

"KYA BAAT! JIYOO!" Abhijeet hooted. Tarika laughed. I joined them with Nakul.

"Yeh? Dance? Wow!" I mumbled at Tarika. Purvi tagged along with a hearty laugh.

"Inka yeh talent humesha chupa hua hi rehta hai! Dancing in sab ki secret talent hai! They are amazing! Khaskar Daya Sir!" Purvi said. I looked at the three men who were completely setting the floor on fire with their moves. Nakul, no doubts, was drooling. The audience gathered on the dance floor, burst into cheers and claps. Abhijeet made his way into the crowd and joined his best friends and both clapped their hand together started dancing with the music. The beat throbbing through the club made me smile at the irony. They are actually the team of Police, entertaining the crowds of the club. These men are definitely unique from other police department.

After the dance was over, sweaty looking Daya came upto me with a smirk I instantly recognised. Nakul watched us with disbelief.

"Kya dekh rhi ho? Dance to bilkul nehi ataa mujhe!" He finished. I couldn't hold myself and started laughing.

"Ab to tumhe koi shikayad nehi hogi... Tum bhi achi dance kar logi! I am sure!" He gestured me towards the dance floor. I braced myself for this. I reached my hand out.

"Ap join karenge to or acha lagega!"  
Daya's eyes widened a bit but he accepted my offer and took my hand pulling me to middle of the dance floor. The floor wasn't too brightly lit, but I could clearly make everyone's presence. We started dancing on each other, just close enough to make every guy's temperature rise a few degrees but not enough to be slutty. It didn't help that the song we were dancing to was so good. He was enjoying every bit of dance with me. I had to push over so I dipped low and swung myself back up tossing my hair side to side. I could feel Daya's eyes on me. I just wanted him to loosen up a bit. Before I could move anywhere he caught my wrist pulled me, twirling me towards him. I slightly lost my balance and ended up right to him, his face inches close to me. I couldn't look at his eyes. It was insane to look into those eyes, impossible. I turned around and back away but was restrained by his grip over my shoulder pulling me back to him. My back was pressed to him. He was breathing on my neck, sliding his hands down my arms and finally linking with my fingers. It was getting so hard to even breathe. This man is intoxicating, completely magical. He pauses his moves and relaxed his posture. I couldn't even keep my thoughts straight when suddenly he pulled away from me.

"Oh, sorry!" he gasped. I turned around and saw him leaving the dance floor. It was confusing. I ran after him. He was completely gone. Or maybe it was the lack of visibility due to the disco lights. I could sense Nakul's eyes on me. I looked at him. He gestured me to the door. I looked over to the door and spotted Daya going out of there. I sighed and followed.

Daya was standing next to a beautiful Italian fountain, gazing at the money that were drowned deep into the pool. I went up to him with slight hesitation. He might turn sore.

"I am sorry!" He breathed without looking at me.

"Kis liye?"

"Woh jo bhi tha! Woh sab!" He could fish out the fact that he was groping on me. I am so sure he will be letting me down today. This mission is completely out of the blue.

"Its okay! Apne kuch galat nehi kiya!" I answered. He cleared his throat. He looked down at the coins in the pool. I sat down near the pool.

It's a wishing fountain," he announced, squinting at the sign. He straightened up and dove his hand into the pocket of his fitted jeans, "Mujhe ek wish mangni hai."

I turned my attention back to the fountain, trying futilely to make a rough estimation of how much was in there. A hand appeared in front of me, two shiny one rupee placed in the palm.

"Tumhe mangni hai koi wish?" asked Daya, who had sat himself down beside me. I smiled at him and took one of the coins. It was still warm from his pocket. He threw his into the fountain and I watched as it swayed back and forth in the water, making its way to the bottom. I closed my eyes and threw mine in after his. It would have been better to wish for something selfless like world peace or an end to hunger, but I felt I had more personal matters to attend to. I wished that if today went according to plan, Daya wouldn't get hurt.

"Kya manga tumhe?" he asked softly, as I opened my eyes again.

"Agar mene bata diya to woh sach kese hoga?" I teased. He smiled a little and I noticed the reflected light from the rippling water was dancing across his face. Corny as it was but it just made him more enchanting. This didn't feel real, it felt like I was watching through someone else's eyes.

"Main nehi manta yeh sab, tum chaho to me apna wish tumhe bata sakta hu" he said, softer still so I had to lean in to catch his words. There was a certain sparkle in his brown eyes which I couldn't place. If he kept this up I was going to forget to breathe at some point and that was probably not going to end positively.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand grabbed my arm and jolted me towards the fountain. I felt like I was going to go in but the arm pulled me back almost instantly. Forget about seducing Daya, just get me through today without someone inducing a heart attack please.

"Abhijeet!" shouted Daya, who had been grabbed and pushed as well, "Pagal ho gaye ho kya? Kar kya rhe the?"

"Kya?" he asked innocently, "Tum dono ke dekh ke lag raha tha ki tum dono ko bhot garmi lag rahi hogi isiliye tum dono ko thora cool down karwa rha tha bus."

Daya glared daggers at Abhijeet. I swivelled around, turning my face and body away, feeling uncomfortable at being in the middle of a bicker.

"Tum batao tumhara dimag to thik hai na?" Abhijeet breathed, taunting Daya. I assumed that I wasn't supposed to hear it, so I didn't react.

"Had hoti hai yar," Daya chided, before standing up and folding his arms in annoyance before changing the subject hastily, "Bhuk lagi hai mujhe."

"Sir apko to humesha bhuk lagti hai!" noted Pankaj,

"Chup reh!" Daya answered back.

"Chalo kahi chalke lunch karte hai?" Tarika said. I had to agree, I completely lost every grain stored in my stomach.

"Ha chalo," Fredy grinned, looking down at the pool, "Nehi to sab ek dusre se larte larte thak jainge."  
So the group descended on Pizza Hut. It was the obvious choice, everyone likes pizza. It's the ultimate food. We got four large pizza's, two Chicken Do pyaza and two Paneer Grills.

"Ugh, main to pure vegetarian hu," said Nakul, pulling a face as the pizza was set down on the table, "Mere life partner me ek cheez to bohot important hai. Main kabhi kisi Non-veg khane wale larke ko date nehi karta."

All five men reached for a slice of the Chicken simultaneously. It could have been coincidental had they not done it the second he had mentioned it and all with urgency. I stifled a laugh as Nakul looked at me and rolled his eyes to the heavens while shaking his head.

We ate, talking and laughing at the same time. It was much the same format as the interview. Abhijeet talked the most, Tarika and Daya directed snide and sarcastic remarks at each other and Kavin didn't say much. On occasion if he was particularly interested in something we were saying he would talk a bit more freely. Other times, he would drop a comment so crafty it blew anything Daya and Abhijeet could come up with out of the water.

I took a leaf of lettuce from the salad on my plate and began to munch as I thought. I was in two minds about what move to make next, concerning Daya of course. Nakul hadn't told me to do anything new, so I was wondering if that meant I shouldn't be doing anything. But then again I was going to have to start thinking for myself; after all, Nakul wasn't going to be able to hold my hand later tonight. Abhijeet's words _'tum batao tumhara dimag to thik hai na'_ rang in my ears. Had he genuinely picked up on something or was he just teasing his brother like best friend? There were more than a few hints that there was _something_ there. Maybe he thought all the flirting was harmless, or maybe he was a typical guy and hadn't a clue about what he was doing or what I was doing. What if he was just humouring me? I felt as though my head was about to explode with everything. Why did Daya have to be like some enigma?

I was almost too deep in thought to notice the slight pressure on my foot. It disappeared after a few moments, then came back. The first few times it was easy to brush off as a coincidence. Then, as the pressure turned to a persistent rubbing at my ankle, I made a fair assumption that it was on purpose. I turned my attention to Daya, who was pushing a piece of Pizza crust around his plate as Abhijeet, Fredy and Tarika argued over the best festival of the year. His warm eyes, which had been following the bit of pastry, suddenly glanced upwards and I knew in that instant it was him. I felt my insides turn to jelly and my heart skip a beat. Maybe he wasn't a puzzle to decipher as I had previously thought. Colour rose on my cheeks a little as I couldn't help but smile, feeling slightly victorious at the gesture. I moved my foot back against his, watching as the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. Caught up in the moment, we were both blissfully unaware of everything going on around us, including Abhijeet and the ice cube.

Daya sprang to his feet, dropping his fork with a loud clatter. He was squirming, his hands reaching over his back and under his Dark Maroon t-shirt.

"Abhijeet pagal!" he yelled. I didn't know until Daya produced the half melted ice cube from his t-shirt what had happened.

"Tujhe firse garmi char rhi thi yaar," Abhijeet gasped between laughs. Everyone was laughing, it was impossible not to when you saw the furious look on Daya's face. Nakul, however, didn't seem to find the funny side. I shot him a curious look and he leant forward.

"Agar yeh Abhijeet tum dono ke ese _moments_ me interrupt karega na," he whispered, "There isn't going to _be_ anymore moments."

I had to agree, Abhijeet's little pranks looked harmless enough, but they were too well planned to just be harmless mischief. If Abhijeet's actions remained un-checked, he could sabotage the whole thing.


	10. An invisible barbed wire!

**HEY! Wow, you guys are just... ^_^ Yeah 21 reviews...so this is incredible. Even if my life is as hectic as the actual guys in CID I have to keep sending you updates, yes Aditi I can never let you guys down! I just want to tell you all how much I appreciate the reviews and SO much. Every single one gives me a massive grin. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story! I have lots of plans for all the twists and turns.. Anyways enjoy enjoy!**

Once Daya had retrieved the ice cube from where Abhijeet had so mercilessly slid it down his back, he sat back down with the most thunderous look on his face. I tried to catch his eye, but he never even glanced in my direction. Trying not to make it obvious, I let out a disheartened sigh. Then, I reigned myself in. I couldn't be disappointed about it. I couldn't let myself get wrapped up in everything. If everything went to plan I would be sleeping with him in approximately eight to ten hours. If everything went to plan in approximately twelve hours I would walk out of his life forever as if nothing had happened. It was obvious that he liked me, so that was it, step one accomplished.

So why didn't I feel any better about it?

If I could have slapped myself around the face without looking like a complete loony I would have done so.

Nakul and I tried to pick up the tab at Pizza Hut, forward the receipt to our boss Sanjay and get a refund, but the guys were having none of it.

"Ap log pay kyu karoge? Hum itne bhi garib nehi ki apne guests ko pay karne de!," chuckled Kavin, "Hum pay kar sakte hai!"

"Ap log wese kitne amir ho?" asked Nakul, sidling up to Kavin, trailing his finger over Kavin's leather jacket around his biceps. Kavin exaggerated a cough. Mera Nakul kabhi nehi sudhera.

He didn't give an answer, just tapped the side of his nose with a sly look. Yeah, they were loaded, anyone with two brain cells to rub together could have worked that one out. Everywhere they go they always end up donating to child care centre or sponsoring orphans. At an average of about 10 to 20 lakhs is not that much of a problem for them, individually.

Next on our port-o-call was the cinema, Abhijeet's choice of activity for the day. We bought our tickets and went to the food stand of the cinema, seeing as we were a healthy thirty minutes early for the showing. I got a small coke and popcorn, which would have been enough to settle me. I wasn't that hungry anyway, we'd just come from lunch.

On the other hand, from looking at what the duos bought themselves you would have thought we'd been starving them for weeks. Daya especially, with jumbo popcorn and large drink. He could only hold the popcorn properly it was that big.

"_Seriously_," gaped Nakul, "Kitna khate ho? Yeh sab jata kaha hai?"

Daya grinned and looked at his long legs, pretty impressive might I add with that popcorn precariously perched in his speciality in kicking doors. Long legs …. Don't even go there Jhanvi.  
"Shayad mere diet ke wajah se me group ka sabse tallest hu."

Even Abhijeet was sceptical.  
"Par agar tu yeh sab khaiga," he commented, "Fat jaiga kisi din firse."

"_Firse_?" Nakul and I asked simultaneously. A fat Daya was just something that was impossible to picture in the mind's eye.

"Main tab _bimar_ tha!" Daya hissed through clenched teeth shooting Abhijeet a glare far harsher than I thought he deserved. Abhijeet was obviously still annoyed about his interruption earlier. Tarika observed the same and started giggling.

"Daya ko tang karna band karo Abhijeet!" she nudged Abhijeet. He just shrugged.

I'll not bore you with the minute details of the film. Right from the start I knew that it wasn't going to my film but none the less it wasn't a complete waste of two hours. Abhijeet chose it. It was Abhijeet right down to the core from what I could decipher from my few hours of acquaintance. The movie consisted of nothing but fast cars, big explosions, and very scantily clad women. Not exactly my kind of movie. I like soppy films where the main character dies at the end and everyone comes out of the cinema depressed. Yes, I'm weird but, hey, if you haven't worked that one out you're a bit remedial.

Being an early showing the cinema was virtually empty, so we all sat in the back row to take the advantage of an unhindered view. Thanks to Nakul, the seating order was arranged in my favour, I was sitting beside Daya. How did we manage that? Well Nakul suggested that I ask him a question as we were walking into the cinema so as we would still be talking when we sat down, meaning it wouldn't look too obvious when I parked beside him. Okay it was a little awkward trying to start up a conversation after our round of foot feel-you-up but it was one of those things I had to do. It was about his training, where he learnt such nice martial moves and then what shampoo he uses. A pretty neutral topic I thought. The only reason my hair was more than average today was because I'd swiped some of Nakul's designer product this morning in the shower. Usually he would have killed me, but seeing as he hadn't mentioned it when I guess today's _situation_ came first.

About half way through the film Daya abandoned his mutant bucket of popcorn, sliding it under the seat in front with an innocent whistle that made me laugh. He hadn't even made a reasonable dent in it, even with the food fight we'd all had waiting for the movie to start. I was almost sure there was popcorn down my bra from that but I thought it weird to check in a public place.

About three quarters of the way through the movie Nakul leant over and began to whisper.  
"Usse puch kya ho raha movie me, bol use tujhe samjhme nehi arha! It'll make him feel important."

I marvelled at how easy he seemed to be making things. It was as if he had read and memorised the seduction tips and tricks book. It was clear that he had done this before. True, he'd had more than a few boyfriends in the two years that I'd known him but I didn't think he'd be as proficient at this manipulation business. At that moment, I felt a little sorry for all of his ex's. God knows what mind games he'd been playing with them.

I turned to face Daya, and I just had to smile. His dark eyes were fixed on the screen, the light and the shadows flickering on his perfect face. A dig in the ribs from Nakul reminded me that I couldn't watch him forever, although I was convinced nothing would make me happier than that, but we were on a tight schedule. No rest for the wicked.

"Daya ji?" I whispered.

"Mm?" he murmured, turning his face around, looking me dead in the eyes. I willed my brain not to completely shut down. Even in the dark he was still amazingly handsome.

"Erm… I'm not sure what's going on… Shayad meri ankh lag gayi thi."  
I hoped that he wouldn't think me some kind of idiot. The plot was painfully simple, possibly another reason Abhijeet had chosen it. He struck me as the kind of person who wouldn't want to watch a movie that would require in depth thought. To my relief, Daya smiled.

"It's okay, jab Abhijeet movie chose karta hai to sab so jate hai!" he chuckled quietly. He angled his body towards mine in his seat and continued to explain what was going on in a whisper so as not to bother the others.  
"…and now they're racing each other us larki ho churane ke liye but the guy in the red car doesn't know ki gari ka break fail hai so he'll crash when he goes above 150 kilometres an hour."

He paused, giving me another one of those small smiles that would give even a heart of stone butterflies.  
"Samjhi?" he asked.

I returned the smile.  
"Bhot ache se."

"Good," he breathed, so quiet I almost didn't catch it. I could see his eyes flit about in the light, half his face in shadows. But he wasn't looking at the screen. He was looking at me. My heart gave a jolt as my groggy brain made the blindingly obvious connection anyone else would have made way before now.

He was going to kiss me.

Overdrive doesn't even begin describe the state my body had gone into. What do I do? What if I _forget_ what to do? What if my breath stinks? What if he thinks I'm a really bad kisser? He must have kissed many girls? Hasn't he? Sweaty palms, faltering breath, a heart beating so hard it felt as though it was going to break my ribs. I felt like I was fourteen again, sitting in a tree house with the boy next door. I was a grown woman, I had _done_ this before. I had done a hell of a lot _more_ than this before, so why did I feel like this?

Thinking time was over as I felt him move closer, ever so slowly, cautiously, as if the slightest movement from me in the wrong direction would be merited as a rejection.

Close enough now, I could feel his warm breath. I took one last glance into his eyes before closing mine and bracing myself for what would either be the best, most satisfying and euphoric kiss to date, or the single worst, embarrassing and career shattering moments of my life.

"Daya woh dekh?" cried Abhijeet, whooping at something on the screen.

The moment was shattered as Daya groaned, almost painfully, and turned away.  
"Kya?" he hissed venomously.

"Yaar, tune miss kar diya, kitna acha scene tha!" Abhijeet said offhandedly, as if it hadn't really mattered as he placed another piece of popcorn in his mouth. Daya gripped the arm rests of the maroon cinema seats as he restrained himself from what I guessed had the potential to be fratricide.

For me, it was like a big balloon in my chest had been deflated, leaving me feeling hollow and empty. Then I had another one of those 'get a grip woman' moments where I had to reach inside my head to slap myself, metaphorically of course. If I got this worked up over a kiss… I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't get attached… I just _couldn't_ get attached.

Nakul placed a reassuring hand over mine and squeezed a little.  
"It's okay, it's not over yet," he whispered, trying to encourage me, "Himmat mat har! He has interest in you!"  
I didn't know why I found that so funny, but I did. I giggled silently for the remainder of the movie. That had to go down in writing somewhere, Nakul had probably spent the duration of the movie thinking that alliteration up.

_'He has interest in you!'_

God I hope so.


	11. Eavesdropping!

**Bonus! Another of my tiny winks for you guys! please enjoy and review! Thank you so much Aditi! You really deserve a hug! *Hugs* There we go! Ok enjoy enjoy!**

I didn't pay attention to the rest of the movie, I was too preoccupied with trying to keep sane. The near kiss was still burning on my mind. Can you blame me? When you get _that_ close to kissing the most breathetaking officer like Daya, you don't forget it easily.

As the credits were rolling up the screen, Abhijeet stood up and stretched out his arms arching his back.  
"Kaise thi film?" he asked, grinning cheerily.

Daya, who was sitting with his arms folded across his chest lifted his eyes and fixed his brother with an icy glare. Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Are, aise kya dekh rahe ho?" he snorted smirking ever so slightly, "Maine kuch kiya kya?"

Daya's mouth fell open slightly as Abhijeet turned and walked towards the exit, after Tarika, Fredy, Kavin and Pakaj who were busy re-enacting their favourite bits from the movie. So Abhijeet had seen us. I didn't know how, but he had, and he had stopped it. Nakul was right when he had said Abhijeet was out to sabotage, but why? I just couldn't understand.

Suddenly Daya, who had been smouldering silently in his seat, leapt to his feet and strode after Abhijeet, his fingers curled tightly into fists.

"Military ko ready karo," whispered Nakul quietly as we got to our feet and followed the rest out of the cinema, "World War three shuru hone wala hai, woh bhi apne hi desh me."

Out in the lobby Daya was standing behind Abhijeet tapping his foot impatiently as his best friend guffawed with Tarika over one of the comic moments of the film. I excused myself, although no-one but Nakul was paying any attention, and went to the toilet. Mother nature was calling and besides, I didn't really want to stick around to watch the Daya shaped firecracker go off.

When I had finished and was washing my hands at the sink, I could hear familiar muffled yelling voices. Looking all around, I tried to pinpoint the source. Call me nosey but I _really_ wanted to hear what they were saying. There was a little grille covering a vent above the sinks. I checked over my shoulder to see that there was no-one else in the room and promptly climbed up onto the bench the sinks were on. Putting my ear to the grille the conversation instantly became much clearer. It was Abhijeet and Daya, in what I assumed was the male toilets, and they were arguing. Well _that's_ a surprise.

"Yeh tum kar kya rahe ho Abhijeet?" snapped Daya

"Mujhe kuch samajh me nehi a rha tum keh kya rahe ho, Daya!" Abhijeet replied off hand.

"Tum… tum…bahane mat banao! tumhe _pata tha_ ke humare beech kya ho raha tha and you _deliberately_ stopped it!"

"It? Apne karuto ko 'it' mat kaho thik hai, ha maine dekha kaise tum us reporter ke nasdeek agaye ho! Itne ki tum apne ap ko bhul gaye ho or uske saath beh gaye ho. Isiliye maine roka!"

"Par...kyu? Tum khud to chahte ho ki main settle ho jau...shaadi karlu haina!" stammered Daya.

"Yar kaisi betuko jaise baate kar rahe ho Daya! Main khud chahta hu ki tum shaadi karlo! Par ese ek hi din me kisi bhi larki ke saath yuh nasdeek ana...Yar tum use thik se to jante bhi nehi..." He paused and looked at his friend with a hint of sympathy.

"Mujhe pata hai ki tum Shreya ke jaane ka gum bhula ki koshish kar rhe ho. Or main khush hu ki tum apne zindagi me age bar rahe ho! Trust me yar me bhot khush hu! Par... Yehi kyu? She is a complete stranger yar and I just think that you're getting _way_ ahead of yourself Daya."

"Yar bura mat manna par tum bhot hypocrite insaan ho Abhijeet," snarled Daya, "Tumhe to Tarika mil gayi hai tumhara life set hai, ab main kya karu? Jhanvi ke saath rehke pata nehi kya ho raha hai mujhe! I feel like mai use bhot ache se janta hu. Main khush hu!"

I suddenly felt really uncomfortable about listening in. Their conversation was private and I shouldn't have been snooping, but it was oh so tempting.

"Dekho tum Tarika or mere relation ko apne life ke saath relate mat karo."

"To mai or kya karu? Mujhe Jhanvi utni hi achi lagne lag gayi hai jitna tum Tarika ko like karte ho. Ab mai kya kar sakta hu yar!"

"This… this isn't you Daya. Tum humesha bhot reserved or cautious rehte ho; I've never seen you act like this before. Esa kya hai is larki me mere dost? Mujhe dar hai ke kahi woh tumhare jasbato ka mazak na uraye!"

"I...I…don't know," Daya faltered," Mujhe pata hai Abhijeet tum kya keh rehe ho par woh bhot khas hai! Or shayad mere ese forward nature ke wajah se woh mere or kareeb a jai! Maine bhot himmat jutaye hai Abhijeet! Main use pasand karta hu, woh bhi mujhe pasand karti hai! She's… different, and cool, and nice, and cute and…she's _real_… jo tum soch rahe ho shayad woh wesi nehi hai!"

"Dekho main nehi chahta mera dost kisi bhi musibat me phase...," Abhijeet sighed.

"Main koi doodh peeta bacha nehi hu Abhijeet, I can look after myself," said Daya coldly.

"Yeah… I know… but… Pata nehi kyu mujhe bhot ajeeb lag raha hai tum dono ko is tarah nasdeek dekh kar. Mujhe dar hai kahi kuch galat na ho jai. Fir to mujhe hi apne dost ko manana or sambhalna parega!"  
Abhijeet paused to sigh heavily.  
"Dekho Daya… esa kuch mat karna jisse tumhe taklif pohche, kyuki tum mere bhai jese ho. Bhai se barkar samjho!"

"Abhijeet." Daya began with a sigh.

"…just…be careful okay?" Abhijeet interrupted with a sly grin.

"…careful? Kya kehna chahte ho tum Abhijeet?" Daya inquired.

"As in, condom istemal karna na bhulna...jab bhi zaroorat pare!" Abhijeet teased. There was a silence. Both the best friends were looking at each other like hawks.

"UGH! ABHIJEET!" Daya gasped in outrage, "Main… Maine kabhi… Maine itna to socha bhi nehi…tumhe lagta bhi hai _woh_ esa karegi?...nehi…mera matlab… Main nehi…I swear...par …he bhagwaan yeh sab me kabhi soch bhi nehi sakta Abhijeet. Chiii!"

"Dekho mujhe itna to pata hi hai ke mera sabse khas dost ab… _bara ho gaya hai_…or," he paused for a dramatic sniff, "Sex ke bare me to kamse se kam hafte me ek bar to soch hi hai."

"Abhijeet agar tumne apna choch band nehi kiya to bhot bhot bhot pitoge, Tarika ko bhi kuch bata nehi paoge! SoJust shut up okay!" Daya threatened, but I could hear in his voice that he didn't mean a word of it. I smiled to myself, happy that the two best friends had patched up their little tiff. My cheeks were also burning from Daya's compliments and his faltering voice when Abhijeet had brought up sex.

I was about to get down, satisfied that I'd heard everything that was going to be of interest to me, when the door opened and in walked a girl. Realising that I looked very odd standing up on the sinks like this I wracked my brains to come up with a valid excuse. She stopped and stared at me.

"Erm… Chuhe," I blurted quickly, "Chuha… niche se dorta hua gaya."

The girl wrinkled up her nose and began backing towards the door.  
"Urgh… I think I'll hold then."

When she was gone, I jumped down and checked myself in the mirror. Hair, was fine and my makeup was holding. Stopping, I stared at myself for a few moments.

_"She's…different and cool, and nice, and cute and…she's real… woh khas hai."_

Maybe all those gun powders and solving mysteries have frazzled his brain. I'm not different, plain brown hair, indifferent brown eyes, the same glasses as every short sighted fashionable person… No, not different. I try to be nice most of the time, but I'm sure Nakul can tell you of more than a few times when I've been the biggest bitch on the planet. The cute thing was a matter of opinion, and as for real? I didn't really understand.

Sighing, I turned away and walked out, back into the lobby where everyone was gathered, presumably waiting for me.

"Agayi," chuckled Fredy, "Abhijeet sir ke pasand ki movie itni boring thi jo washroom me jake bhi ankh lag gayi?"

I blushed. I would have been in and out in half the time had I not paused to overhear the conversation.

"Abhijeet sir ki movie boring thi?" interjected Nakul with a raise of his eyebrow, "Wese movie me ho kya raha tha?"  
"Very funny!" Abhijeet muttered. Tarika and Purvi giggled.  
"Ugh, Jhanvi?" Daya piped up, "Yeh article jo tum likhogi usme tum kya kya add karogi…_details_."

Abhijeet began to cough, which I assumed was to hide a laugh and Nakul shot me a meaningful wink. Daya wanted to know if I would put the near kiss thing and the flirting in the article. Well, it wasn't going into the article he thought I was writing, but it would probably end up published along with far worse things.

"There'll be a fair bit of detail, par main zyada movie ke bare me likh nehi sakti, copyrights issue. Mujhe shayad film wala part skip karni pare," I said, giving him a deliberate look.

"Iska matlab yeh hua ki," interrupted Abhijeet, "Yeh tum dono ke…"

Abhijeet was cut off as Daya placed a hand quickly over his best friend's mouth.

"Dono ke kya?" asked Tarika sceptically raising an eyebrow. Kavin got a slight hint and started to chuckle silently at the back. Fredy looked as confused as Pankaj.

"Nehi kuch nehi," grinned Daya trying to look angelic, but it came off as slightly psychotic as he fought with his now mute struggling friend, "Abhijeet bas yuhi bakwas kar raha tha... Wese ab kya plan hai? Bowling? Hume chalna nehi chahiye? I mean with rush hour traffic, bhot time lagega poch ne me. ACP sire ne kaha tha ki unhone private party area book ki hai humare liye so there'll be no interruptions. Tarika, Purvi ko leke jao or taxi roko, hum ate hai!" Tarika and Purvi walked off.

"Apke ACP Sir ne book kiya hai?" I asked. Now wasn't that too sweet for an Assistant Commisioner of Police?

"Humare ACP sir bohot hi ache or friendly hai," explained Kavin, " kabhi esa lagta hi nehi ki hum pressurised rehta hai! Hum humesha unke abhari rehte hai...or Daya sir apko nehi lagta ap Abhijeet sir ko marne ki koshish kar rhe hai? Woh neele par chuke hai?"

"Oh," Daya exclaimed, taking his hand away from Abhijeet's mouth.

"DAYA! teri _problem_ kya hai?" blurted Abhijeet, gasping in some welcome air, "tune mera naak tak band kar rakha tha!"

"Sorry yar," mumbled Daya. Abhijeet grunted in response.

"Pata nehi hum film kyu dekhne gaye the," Nakul giggled, "Ap dono ke tutu mai mai kisi film se zyada entertaining hai!"


	12. Teacher teacher!

**Here we go another chapter! Please review! Thank you so much!**

The journey to the bowling alley was, to say the least, uneventful. I mean I probably could give you a run down of everything we talked about, but that would probably bore you stupid. By now I highly doubt you're interested in our trivial conversations. I think it would be safe to say that you're interested to know if there was any _action_ between Daya and I. Sadly, there wasn't. There were a few subtle hints at flirting, maybe a smile or two, but nothing like before. I was beginning to feel just a little more than daunted by the task ahead. If I was going to pull this off (perhaps even literally if you get my meaning…) then I would have to pull out all the stops. Before I could make a start, my mobile went off to the rather embarrassing _'You are my pumpkin hello hunny bunny' _tune. I answered as quick as possible, ignoring the laughs that emitted from Abhijeet and Pankaj.

"Hello?"

"Jhanvi meri star!" came the over enthusiastic voice of Sanjay. This was him 'checking up' on me so to speak.  
"How's everything going?"

"Oh, fine thanks, they're cool bunch of guys," I replied matching his fake enthusiasm.

"Good, good, and how's _Daya_?"

"Fine," I replied hesitantly after a pause.

"Has cupids arrow stuck yet?" he asked. I could see the smug look on his round chubby face even now.

"I'm…not sure," I lied. To an extent it had, but I had no way of knowing how deep the 'arrow' had managed to go. Maybe it was a little flimsy crush, maybe it was more, I wouldn't know until the crunch.

"Itni lack of confidence," he said, his voice suddenly darkening. When I didn't immediately answer him, he carried on.  
"I don't want to have to remind you how important this is," he warned, "I forked out a _lot_ for this interview. Like I said before, I don't want you to fuck this up."

"I'll try not to," I responded brightly, masking the bad feeling in my gut that he gave me when he used that voice.

"Good, good, kal subah milte hai… itni subah bhi nehi, thora enjoy karna uske saath...bed pe."  
He laughed loudly at his own joke. It wasn't _that_ funny. Then, with a click, he was gone.

"Kiska phone tha?" inquired Daya.

"Oh, humare editor, just checking to see if everything's going alright."

"Bhot hi ache insaan hai woh," Daya grinned.

Yeah…_ache_.

Before I knew it, the taxi pulled up outside a building with a big tacky neon bowling ball and pins stuck to the roof. We hired two taxi. Abhijeet and Tarika got out before us. Learning from my previous mistakes I stayed put until everyone else had climbed out of the taxi before making my exit.

"Kya dekh rehe ho, main itni bhi gadhi nehi!" I muttered to Pankaj, hepouted to which I replied with a smirk.

Before going in we rested a bit and sat outside the Bowling complex while the two best friends had a cigarette each. I didn't even know they smoked until I'd turned around to see them lighting up. Thinking back I could remember my first ever cigarette, I'd nearly choked to death after inhaling. It was my first and last experience. I had my other vices, like drinking. I never knew when to say no, and I was pretty ashamed to say there were more than a few mornings when I'd woken up in bed with no recollection of how I got home. Believe me, it's scary when you can't remember the last twenty four hours of your life because of a few drinks. Nakul was the opposite. He could hold his drink but was a sociable smoker.

"Ap log smoking kabse karte ho?" I asked them, genuinely interested but I could pass the question off as one for the article.

"Mujhe to yaad bhi nehi kab maine start kiya tha," Abhijeet, mused.

Daya took a drag, then puffed it out slowly as he thought.  
"Das saal pehle?" he said, "Jab hum dono kisi case ke silsile me Darjeeling gaye the. I can't remember why we started but it's mostly for the stress now. CID me rehna itna asan nehi!" he added with a laugh.

Cigarettes don't relieve stress, they just relieve the need for nicotine, making it _feel_ like you've been relieved of stress. I thought it best to bite my tongue on that biology lesson, Daya struck me as the kind of person who wouldn't appreciate a comment such as that.

"Stress de rahe hai kya hum dono ap ko?" asked Nakul, pouting playfully before putting the small white stick to his lips. The gesture was completely wasted on them as they seemed to have both adapted to ignoring Nakul rather than let his sexuality scare them.

"Bilkul bhi nehi," Daya replied politely, although I think there was an undertone of sarcasm present.

"Mujhe lagta hai main use stress de raha hu," Abhijeet chuckled.

"Tu bhi nehi de raha hai re," retorted Daya stubbornly.

"Main de raha hu yar tujhe."

"No yar."

"I am…"

"_Please_ Abhijeet…" Daya sighed, rolling his eyes to the heavens.

My eyes flicked back and forwards, following the conversation like some perverse tennis match.

Abhijeet laughed.  
"Yar mujhe to lagta hai tu stressed hai. Especially jab main tum dono ka..OW!"

Bill had just kicked his best friend, _hard_, on the shin.

"Daya yaar laat kyu mara," Abhijeet swore, "Main koi darwaza nehi hu."

Daya completely blanked him, taking another suck of the small white stick in his mouth. Abhijeet shot him a disgusted look.

"Sorry Jhanvi," apologised Tarika coming right next to me. Before the two best friends could scramble off Tarika took their cigerattes from their fingers and dropped it with an angry glare. "Yeh dono jab bhi off duty hote hai na bache ban jate. Par pata nehi kyu aj yeh dono kuch zyada hi lar rhe hai... Shayad tumhare or Daya ke saath kuch..."

"Aree yar time to dekho, chalo complex ke andar chalte hai," blurted Daya in interruption.

"Mhm, kuch to hua hai" whispered Tarika, out of earshot of Daya. I blushed.

The first thing I noticed when we got inside was how _warm_ it was. The cinema had been nicely air conditioned and there had been no need for me to take off my leather jacket and reveal my highly provocative top. Now, however, it seemed that fate was pushing things in my favour. Just as I had vowed to push my flirtatious act in Daya's direction, I'd been given licence to remove my leather jacket and show off some serious skin. I would wait though, for the right moment.

"Main yeh pehnunga?" Daya asked, his face deadpan as he looked at the shoes that had been placed on the counter in front of him.

"Ab zyada natak mat karo, pehn lo" Abhijeet snickered, lifting a pair in his size, "They're just shoes."

"Kitne purane hai! Badbu bhi arhi hai!," Daya whined, looking crestfallenly at the footwear, "Why do I have to wear them?"

"Company policy hai Sir," said the guy behind the counter, "It's for your own protection. Thora to hume bhi mouka milna chahiye ap logo ko protect karne ka!"

"Par yar yeh zyada comfortable hai yar," argued Daya pointing down to his boots. The assistant looked over the counter and sighed.

"Yes sir, those look okay, par agar koi injured hota hai to hum zimmedar nehi honge isme," the guy said. Daya blinked. The young man behind the counter shrugged.  
"Main bas yeh kahunga ki ap hume arrest nehi kar paoge," he explained.

Daya blinked again.  
"To mein apna joota pehn to sakunga na?" he asked, still pointing at them. I stifled a giggle; Daya was one sandwich short of a picnic.

"Agar ap chaho to."

"Oh Yeah!" he cheered, skipping away to where the others were sitting at their chosen alley.

"Kuch zyada hi ziddi nehi hai yeh?" asked Nakul. "Yeh zid to bhot hi sexy lagega...Dominating man in bed!"

I rolled my eyes at his vulgarity.  
"Mujhe hopes mat de, I know he is hot okay!" I retorted.  
He raised his eyebrow and mouthed _'bitch'_ to me.

I laughed at him and picked up shoes in my size before joining them at the lane. Pankaj and Abhieet were busy entering everyone's names into the little computer. Daya wasn't happy.

"Yar tum log is Abhijeet ko naam set karne de rhe ho? Isne mere phone ka kiya tha! Ab dekho kya karta hai!" he snapped. Abhijeet laughed in an evil scientist kind of way. I watched as the names appeared on the screen. Bhim, Hero, Jasus, Motu, Leather Jacket, Heroine, darpok, Jhanvi and Nakul.

Chicken, he hadn't been brave enough to change ours in case we'd take offence.

"Daya, tu pehla hai" he grinned, as 'Bhim' highlighted on the screen.

"Nautanki," Daya glared in response, as he shrugged off his jacket and walked up to ball rack to choose a bowling ball. Sheepishly, he shuffled back to us, sat down, and started taking off his watches, stone rings and band bracelet.

"Watches or kare allowed nehi hai," he mumbled, embarrassed.

The rest of the guys cracked up.

Even I joined in the laughter when he had to retreat to the bathrooms and put soap on his fingers when one ring refused to come off. He emerged a minute later, his cheeks flushed but the ring successfully removed. Having safely tucked them inside the pocket of his jacket, he returned to the balls and picked one up. Realising it was too light he put it back and chose the heavy one.

"Show off!" Pankaj whispered.

"Beta 100 din ho gaye, ap or kitna time lagaoge?" laughed Abhijeet.

Daya ignored them, taking in a deep breath as he approached the alley. With what I can only describe as efficient grace, he swung his arm back and sent the ball hurtling down the lane with speed and accuracy. At the bottom it crashed into the pins knocking all ten over. The laughter immediately ceased.

Daya turned around, his posture and facial expressions all screaming smugness.

"Ah," said Kavin quietly, "Mujhe to humesha Sir ke saath jane me dar hi lagta hai. Sir hume kabhi chain se jeene bhi nehi denge agar jeet gaye to. He kicks the shit out of us and gloats for the next six months."  
I chuckled.  
Well _this_ will be fun.

"Han to koi kuch kehna chahta hai?" Daya asked, grinning with self-satisfaction.

Nakul was leaning his head on my shoulder, unable to hold back the silent laughter at the expressions of disbelief on everyone's faces.

"Coincedence," Abhijeet sniffed, getting to his feet as 'Hero' came up on the board as the person to bowl next. Daya bumped deliberately into Abhijeet on his way back to his seat, still with a smirk on his face. Abhijeet picked up the bowling balls, testing out the weights. When he had chosen he poised himself at the top of the alley.

"Go Abhijeet!" yelled Daya suddenly, making me jump, and knocking Abhijeet's concentration. His ball flew out of his hand and began making a wonky path down the alley and into the gutter. If looks could kill Daya would have died a very painful death there and then. But as it happens, they don't and Daya just laughed silently, holding his sides to keep them from splitting. Abhijeet, who was now thoroughly pissed off, took another ball and threw it down the lane. It swerved slightly to the left and knocked over a commendable seven pins.

Purvi was next, under the title 'Jasus'. There seemed to be no end to the teasing that Abhijeet gave her, but she never let it get to him which I thought was quite impressive. The quietest member of CID next to Kavin managed to knock over only four pins after a gutter ball on her second attempt. When 'Motu' highlighted, Pankaj begrudgingly got to his feet, ignoring the sniggers from the two best friends. Daya adopted a sour look when Pankaj managed to get a spare, knocking over the remaining pins on his second ball.

"I am still the highest," Daya smirked.

Leather Jacket, Kavin that is got up from his seat with a sly grin. He managed to knock over eight pins and four pins in the second round.

Next was Tarika, the heroine of Abhijeet. She teased herself to the podium and was able to bring down seven pins. Abhijeet bow down to her, making her blush. Daya whistled slightly.

I was next, fortunately having my own name, rather than one of Abhijeet's nicknames. Thinking now would be the best time; I began to take off my jacket. I tried to do it as normally as possible; making it seem like it was the most innocent gesture in the world. I got to my feet and shrugged it off, leaving it on the seat behind me. As I walked towards the rack of bowling balls, the talking instantly ceased and I could almost feel the guys' eyes burning my back through the slashed back of my t-shirt.

Pankaj was the first to make a comment.  
"Sir muh band karo machar bhot ur rahe hai yaha par,"

I laughed. I seriously didn't know who he refered it to. Turning around to inspect the damage in my wake, I saw Pankaj grinning cheekily, pleased with himself I supposed at coming up with the comment he did. Both Daya and Kavin were staring, Kavin with his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Abhijeet, however, remained stoic as always. Satisfied with their reaction, especially Daya's, I picked up the pink ball seeing as it was the lightest and prettiest in my opinion and stood at the top of the lane. Throwing my arm back, I let out a breath, took a step forward, and threw it down the aisle.

To my horror, the ball _bounced_ halfway down to the pins and then into the gutter. I frowned and picked up another ball and waited for the pins I hadn't knocked over (which was them all) to be reset. I poised myself again and repeated the action. Exactly the same thing happened again. I turned around, my cheeks flushed red from my lack of bowling skills.

And that's much how the next few rounds of playing went. Daya was either hitting a strike, a spare or only leaving one pin up. Kavin wasn't much behind, I supposed he was trying his damnedest to beat Daya to avoid the gloating that would inevitably follow. Abhijeet, Tarika and Nakul weren't bad, not fabulous either, but above average, knocking down six or seven pins each time. Purvi even got a strike once which, although a complete fluke, had her hyper. She was jumping about the place, clapping her hands and breaking out into a chorus of 'Don't stop me now', earning herself jealous glares from the others.

I, on the other hand, was a complete disaster. If there was a record for the most accidental gutter balls in one game, I was sure going to break it. In the entire first five rounds I had knocked down a grand total of six pins. It was a disaster. Sure, the t-shirt had caught Daya's attention, but now that I was humiliating myself with my glorious streak of gutter balls I feared 'the' plan was slipping out of my fingers. I had to think fast.

Guys were egotistic, it was their genetic code. So I had to find a way to play up to that. I had to find some way to make him feel good about himself, getting as close as possible to him as I could in the process. Nakul was so much better at this than I was, but I resisted asking for his help seeing as I would have to fly solo soon enough. Suddenly, it clicked. I would get him to teach me how to bowl. It worked in all the movies when the girl got the guy to teach her to play something, so why not for me?

When my turn came around again, I made a show of pouting and sighing, dragging my feet as I went to collected the pink ball which I had trademarked as my own. Turning back around to face them, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the desired reaction.

"Mai konsa part galat kar rhi hu?" I moaned, trying my best to look down heartened by my losing streak, which was easy seeing as I was rather annoyed.

"Jitne bhi part ho sakte hai, sab!" replied Pankaj which earned him a slap around the head from both Daya and Nakul.

When Daya didn't immediately jump to his feet to offer his assistance, I decided that like every member of the male species, deciphering subtlety wasn't his strong point and did it for him.

"Daya ji, ap kese karte ho?" I pressed.

"Mujhe khud nehi pata me kese fekta hu, I'm either really lucky or gifted. I think I am gifted," he winked, still oblivious to what I thought was an obvious request for help. Even Abhijeet seemed to have grasped the situation as he watched his best friend with a look of exasperation on his face. If I wasn't trying to be incognito I would have hit my head off my palm in frustration.

Let's try third time lucky for Mr. Anjan here.

"Kya ap sikha sakte ho?" I asked, blatantly, all reservations cast aside.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, the last person out of our group to catch on, "Ha ha kyu nehi!"

He got up from the hard plastic seat and walked over to me, unaware of the silent teasing he was getting behind his back as Abhieet and Tarika sniggered over something I couldn't hear.

"Okay," he began, "First of all you're standing too stiff, relax ho jao thora and spread your legs a bit."

"Spread legs, haawww," heckled both Kavin and Pankaj causing Tarika, Abhijeet and Nakul to burst into a fit of giggles. Glancing back I even saw Fredy crack his face a bit. Daya groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. I knew that he was embarrassed, I could see it in the colour of his cheeks, but he was trying to cover it up.

"Sorry," he mouthed, looking up at me. I shook my head, smiling at him, letting him know it didn't matter. Truth be told I was embarrassed too. I hadn't seen that one coming. Suddenly, he began to grin deviously.  
"Mere pas ek idea hai," he whispered, "Ache se khelo or in sab ko chup karao."

My heart missed a beat. Partly because I was giddy at the prospect of what he could be planning, partly because any plan of Daya's seemed to me a disaster even prior to being initiated. Before another thought had crossed my mind, he was standing behind me, one hand on my waist the other on the wrist of the hand I was holding the bowling ball in.

Now this plan I _like_.  
He was using his body as a guide, showing me how I should stand when bowling. He rested his chin on my shoulder and breathed instructions into my ear. A shiver went down my spine, but I wasn't about to complain.

"You've got to keep your arm straight, if you twist your wrist to fir ball gutter me chala jaiga," he explained, squeezing his hand around mine to exaggerate his point. Quite frankly he could have been speaking Urdu. I wasn't really listening, I didn't have the capacity to listen, my brain was _mush_.

"Then you bring your arm back, at the same time, apne right leg ko age lo, and bend your left," he continued, bringing my arm back for me. It was a good thing too, my motor skills seemed to have evaporated along with my brain  
"Don't _throw_ the ball either, try and _roll_ it."

Turning my head slightly to look at him he winked, subtly. His plan seemed to have worked too. The guffawing and heckles from Panka and Abhijeet had ceased and there was a deathly silence as Daya conducted his very intimate bowling lesson.

"Got it?" he asked softly. I tried to remember how to nod my head. Up and down Jhanvi, just move your head up and down.

"Good," he smiled, letting me go and standing up straight, "Ab tum try karo."

I tried kicking my brain into action again, desperately remembering his instructions. Straight arm, bring it back, bend the leg, don't throw it but roll it. Here it goes. Following his directions, I bowled the pink ball down the alley. Surprisingly, it didn't bounce, but rolled vaguely in the direction of the pins with shocking grace. At the bottom it ploughed into six of the pins.

"Yes!" I cried, throwing my arms up in elation. I'd done it! I skipped over to the rack, eager to pick up another ball and do it again. This time I knocked over three, giving me a score of nine, my highest yet. Without warning, Daya scooped me up into a hug.

"Dekha," he laughed, "You can bowl."

"Apne help kiya tabhi," I replied with a wink, "You're a great teacher."

Both Pankaj's and Abhijeet's faces were priceless as we walked back. They had identical stunned expressions, and I expected it was more at Daya's uncharacteristically 'friendly' actions than my suddenly improved bowling skills.

"Mujhe bhi sikhao naaa, Pleaasee" breathed Nakul, looking at Daya with glassy, awe filled eyes, "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Everyone laughed, even Fredy.


	13. The kiss and the good byes!

** Okay I dont know how this is not happening but my story isn't showing at the top which is ridiculous cuz i have some really amazing pointers stored! anyways please find it and read it! And review it! Very important for authors like us! Enjoy!**

I was quite proud of the fact that my bowling skills had made a substantial improvement. I had considered more than once to pretend to be bad again, just to have Daya help me out again, but I felt like my brain couldn't handle another lesson like _that_ again. If I imagined hard enough, I could still feel his warm hand on my waist, gentle, yet most defiantly there. I was still tingling. The whole affair was almost surreal; my plan to get close had worked so much better than I had hoped for, even if it was Daya just attempting to stop the heckles from his friends. It was hard not to imagine, that if I was still giddy from a brief touch, what would a night's worth of touching feel like? I let my mind wander, just for a moment.

All hope of beating anyone had disappeared and I was forced to watch the testosterone match between Daya and Pankaj. They were both so competitive, that I felt as though the loser would likely tear the winner apart. Kavin and Abhijeet were also having their own little match, seeing as though they weren't in the same league as the others. Nakul, bless him, was just having the time of his life watching the bitching and taunting going on between the CID team members, whilst trying to find the most original way to bowl the ball down the alley. He was currently lying on his back at the top of the lane, the ball at the end of his feet. He brought his knees into his body then, kicked his legs out straight. They hit the ball and it began to roll down towards the pins. It didn't exactly work because the ball only had enough momentum to make it half way down the aisle. At that point he went down after it, got onto his hands and knees and nudged it the rest of the way with his head. Hilarious? You have no idea.

The bowling match lasted a total of two hours. With there being so many of us and with everyone but Nakul and myself taking it deathly serious it wasn't hard to see why. Much to the annoyance of his fellow CID team, Daya came first.

"Oh ho main jeet gayaa!" he chanted, dancing around clapping his hands like an excitable child. Even though I could foresee how annoying his gloating was going to get I couldn't help but grin. It was impossible not to like him, with his childlike qualities and camp and diva like manner that I'm sure could rival even Nakul at times. He was also unmistakably _handsome_. You can't argue with me on that one. I had, of course, known this before today but there was one thing seeing his face on a photo or watching him on news kicking bad guy booties. It was another to have him standing a few feet in front of you. Sure his ears were a bit sticky out and his body is big out of frame but they just added to everything, proving he wasn't 100% perfect. I didn't mind settling for 99%. I don't think a better candidate for this 'article' could have been chosen. Except maybe Kavin, but that's only because Kavin would be so much more willing and young. Suddenly a hand began to wave in front of my face and I realised I'd be staring at Daya.

"Hello? Kis duniya me ho!"

I snapped back to reality, turning to see Abhijeet, giving me a very peculiar look.

"Mere dost ko is tarah dekhna band karogi?"

I froze. What did he mean? Was he being serious and genuinely telling me to back off? Did he suspect something? What about what I'd overheard in the toilets? Had he changed his mind? Was he going to be a problem after all?

"Mera matlab," continued Abhijeet, leaning back in his seat, "Main bhi to hu na... Use choro?" he asked gesturing to himself. Tarika smacked his head playfully.

If I could have crumpled into a little heap on the floor with relief I would have done so. He was only playing with me, he was just Abhijeet being Abhjeet.

"Be careful there," warned Nakul, "Apne dost ki zyada buraiya apke liye thik nehi hai."

"Matlab?" Abhijeet questioned cautiously.

"Ap dono ki soch same hai, whatever you say about Daya Sir to demean him you might as well say about yourself!" he laughed.

Abhijeet paused for a moment to think about what Nakul had said, then shrugged his shoulders.  
"Main dimag ke bare me baat kaha kar rha hu Nakul," he added with a sly smile.

"Main to look ki bare me baat kar raha tha!" chided Abhijeet, giving Nakul a look.

I rolled my eyes, before excusing myself to use the loo again. Daya was still gloating, teasing Pankaj with his score and I could see that Pankaj was trying desperately to control his urge to stick his tongue to his senior.

I took forever to wash my hands after, thinking things over in my head. The deadline was drawing closer and I still had no clue about what I was going to do at the end of the night. Well, of course I knew how to have sex, that is, believe it or not, the easy part. The reason why Sanjay booked them a luxious hotel for the night. I mean, how exactly do I get myself into Daya's hotel room? Do I invite myself in? Do I wait for him to ask me? I'm so in over my head. This isn't fair on me. This isn't fair on him. It's just not fucking fair. I stared at the sink, watching the water swirl around. All this for a story. All this for money. I took in a deep breath and splashed some water onto my face, regretting it almost instantly as I remembered my make-up. Pulling off a few sheets of paper towels, I dried my face as carefully as possible, trying to avoid any smudges. Suddenly the door burst open and in blew Nakul.

"This is the girls bathroom," I told him teasingly.

"Ha to?" he replied quickly, "Come on, you _have_ to see this!"

He dragged me out by the hand, back into the bowling alley. The first thing I was aware of, was that the guys had evacuated our lane, since the game was finished. Instead they were all crowding around the games machines. Why bowling alleys have games machines is one thing that I can never understand, but, they always seem to. At the far corner I could see them gathered at a dance machine. Daya and Kavin were standing on it, leaning against the controls and I began to in vision them having a totally cliché 'dance off'. Surely after the bowling these guys had no testosterone left but I was about to be proven wrong.

"Right, she's here," Nakul announced.

They were all looking at me. They were all _staring_ at me. I could feel myself becoming slightly paranoid.

"What?" I asked, completely baffled.

Daya's cheeks began to turn red. He coughed in exaggeration.  
"Tune bataya nehi?" he asked.

"Kya nehi bataya?" I blurted, feeling the beginnings of hysteria. I don't cope well with people keeping secrets from me.

Tarika, on the other hand, was bent double, leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder for support as she laughed so hard.

I looked to Nakul, begging him silently for answers. He gave me an ear to ear grin back.  
"Whoever wins the dancing game gets to kiss you," he answered, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

If it was physically possible for my jaw to hit the ground, it would have. What was he thinking? This could go either blissfully right or horribly wrong. I had a feeling it was the latter.

"They _what_?" I stammered.

"That's not a problem is it?" pouted Kavin, dipping his chin and raising an eyebrow. A little part of me died inside after that. Damn these officers. All hunks!

I am sexy, flirty, reporter Jhanvi. I am _not_ nervous, blundering, turn to jelly at moments like this Jhanvi.

"Of course not," was my answer. Secretly, I crossed my fingers, praying that Daya would win. If Kavin wins it would only complicate things so much more.

They selected a song, which predictably, was their own favorite. _Battamiz dil_, none the less. Tarika and Abhijeet were both watching in amusement. With all the time spent with the team, they were no doubt used to them competing and the hilarity that I assumed would ensue.

It was clear from the start that Kavin had the better rhythm. He managed to hit all the steps perfectly while his senior would occasionally falter.

"Kya hua Daya Sir?" he taunted, "Ap to ache dance kar rhe the aj subah?"

"Shut up Kavin," Daya snapped back, his face contort with concentration. Abhijeet just laughed as Kavin points went up at twice the speed of Daya. I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Kavin was going to win.

Well, okay, it wasn't that much of a sinking feeling, Kavin was still drool-able, but _he_ wasn't the one I was supposed to be framing.

A funny thing happened then. Kavin looked over with a sly smile, first at Daya, then at me, then back at the screen. Then he started making mistakes. First it was just subtle off beat's here and there, but then he pretended to totally lose it. Had I not seen his little 'look' I would have believed his act. Even Daya had fallen for it.

"Haan! Ab bata?" Daya jibed.

Nakul leant over and whispered in my ear.  
"You can thank me later for this."

When the song had finished, Daya jumped up with a cry of 'yes!' punching his fist into the air. I suddenly felt very shy and self conscious.

"Ha! Ab bol beta ab bol!"

"Sir ji ap mahan ho," sighed Kavin rolling his eyes with good nature, before looking my direction and giving a wink, "Go on then."

"Go on what?" asked Daya.

"Free kiss," Tarika laughed, pointing in my direction.

Suddenly my mouth felt very dry and my palms sweaty, mixed in with a rapidly increasing heartbeat.

"Oh..." he muttered, as if he'd only remembered about me now, "Par yar woh toh..."

"Oh apko nehi chaiye?" began Kavin, "Thik hai..."

"Nehi," cried Daya suddenly, and much louder than I'm sure he wanted to because he looked a little surprised after he'd said it.  
"Mera matlab," he corrected, "Woh... Main... tum sab yaha pe... yuh sabke samne.."

"Yar drame baaz," groaned Abhieet, pushing him off the dance machine in my direction, "Hum apne akhen band kar rhe hai. Tum karo kiss!" Tarika said.  
Nakul and Pankaj snickered.

"Erm..." was all Daya could manage. For someone who loved the limelight, he sure didn't like to be put on the spot. I was frozen, like my shoes had suddenly been filled with concrete. This was the wrong way around; I wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. I was supposed to be making _him_ feel like this.

"Come on Daya, do it!" chanted Abhijeet, swiftly joined with both Nakul and Tarika. Fredy might have drifted into a coma and no-one would have noticed.

"Yeh...yeh..inter..view.. article me nehi chapna chahiye? Samjhi!" he muttered shyly, unable to look at me for more than a few milliseconds before looking at his shoes.

I managed to shake my head. I was lying, but he wouldn't have known that. Tarika and Purvi started to giggle softly.

With a small smile and a blush, Daya put his hands on my waist and lent his face down to mine. Then we kissed. It was as simple as that. It was soft, and gentle, with no tongues. You could hardly call it a kiss but I really couldn't care any less. It was perfection. It lasted no more than a few seconds, yet my lips felt as though they would tingle for a lifetime.

"THANK GOD!" cried Abhijeet, clapping his hands, "Now we can go _home_."

Wait.

_What?!_


	14. The final end to a Circle!

**Whew this took a whole day! Anyways guys you are the best I love you all! Everyone of you! Please read it! I was in a bad mood when I wrote most of it! okay now enjoy..and please leave a comment! Tell how'd you feel!**

Leave? They wanted to leave and go home? I knew home wasn't _home_, home, but rather their hotel rooms that my boss Sanjay has booked for them for a night stay. Still, it meant that my time was up. Daya let me go, although I would have preferred he didn't. I was feeling a little dizzy.

"Itni jaldi?" he asked, fishing his phone out of his pocket, "Time kya hua hai, yaar sirf saare aath."

"Daya Ji…" Tom sighed exasperatedly, "Hum subah se ghum rahe hai kal bureau nehi jana, wese bhi Tarika or Purvi ko bhi to ghar jana hai na."

"Hum apna protect khud kar sakte hai!" Tarika interrupted smirked.

"Woh to mujhe pata hai Tarika madam par fir bhi, ap sab ki dhyan rakhna meri zimmedari hai na" Abhijeet commented with a shy look, Tarika blushed. "Acha?"  
"Ji, bhot khayal karta hu main apka!" Abhijeet finished while gripping Tarika's hand. Tarika smiled teasingly.  
"Aree ab tum dono bhi kiss karlo, mauka bhi sahi hai, bhot der se dekh raha hu! Ab bhot ho gaya nain mattakka!" Daya laughed, adjusting the cap on his head.

"Ha sar aj ka date CID ka valentines day ban jaiga fir to," Pankaj mused.

"Ha or kya" teased Abhijeet, his signature cheeky grin plastered across his face. He pulled Tarika slightly. She yelped.

"Aree Abhijeet! Kya hai? Chalo ghar nehi jana!" She blabbered, pushing her boyfriend without making any kind of eye contact. Her blush was so obvious.

The conversation dribbled on and, to be honest, I wasn't paying any attention to it whatsoever as our party gradually made our way out of the bowling alley. My head was wrapped up in thoughts. Thoughts about Daya, GlamGoss, Sanjay, my _job_, more so about _keeping_ my job flitted through my head. I had a nasty suspicion that Sanjay wouldn't be too happy about keeping me around if I didn't get what he wanted me to. If I got fired, Nakul wouldn't stay at GlamGoss, and that would be both of us out of a job. How long we could stay afloat after that on savings I had no idea. We didn't have any qualifications really, we just finished our masters in Mass Communication and thought that we were invincible when GlamGoss took us under their wing. In reality, it was because no-one else would work for them and they would take whatever they could get their hands on. We wouldn't be able to survive on our own. This was the only way. I _had_ to do this.

"Kya hua?" Nakul asked me later, while we were on our own. Daya and Tarika were arguing over their Forensic doctor and Pankaj, Abhijeet and Freddy were trying to reason who is the better driver in CID. From where I was watching I wasn't sure I'd get into a car with either of them.

"Nothing," I lied, watching as Kavin muttered '_sabke sab laraku gunde hai!_' and tried to shove his team off the road due to all the arguments with an angry glare.

"Koi bhoot dekh liya kya Jhanvi, you look pale" Nakul pouted, looking concerned.

I sighed, if I didn't tell anyone I would no doubt explode. Besides, if I couldn't count on Nakul, I had no-one.

"I'm just... scared. I feel so bad," I muttered shaking my head.

"Tu koi khoon nehi karne wali hai yar," he assured me, "Log agar bina soche kisi ki jaan le sakte hai to yar yeh sab jo tu karne ja rahi hai yeh kuch bhi nehi hai. Look if you _really_ don't want to do it, you don't have to. Hum Sanjay ko samjha..."

"Nehi," I interrupted him, "I'll be fine. I just need someone to tell me it'll all be fine."

Nakul smiled.  
"It'll be fine."  
We again took two cabs. Purvi and Tarika were adviced to take the ride as they live far off the city. Our taxi ride meanwhile was unusually quiet, considering in whose company we were in. Daya hadn't spoken to me since the kiss. Was that a good or bad thing? Was he just embarrassed, or was he... I have no idea. My head's so fucked up right now. I think about things way too hard, when right now I really don't need to think about anything. Daya and Abhijeet were whispering to each other only using one or two words a sentence. I was quite enthralled by the fact they seemed to understand each other with the minimal use of words. I decided that it must have been a thing you get with your bestest best friend after spending seventeen years with that best friend. Nakul, who was sitting beside me this time was offering advice to me in a whisper. Occasionally he would say something that shocked even me and I would gasp and tell him to shut up before remembering that I was in a confined space with four other people and would have to apologise to them while Nakul rocked in silent laughter in his seat. To be fair, the duo's were just as bad, several times during the ride Daya would gasp and hit his best friend around the head.  
"Yar yeh khus phus band karoge?!" Freddy snapped eventually, "Main pagal ho jaunga."

"You're just jealous no-one's whispering in your ear," taunted Nakul, "Agar aitraaz na ho to main apke kano me gunguna sakta hu."

Silence. The duo's, Kavin and Pankaj stared at Nakul like he was insane. I had to admit, out of the five he'd picked the worst one to tease. There was an excruciatingly long pause.

"Hotel dikh jai to jaga dena, me so raha hu" Freddy muttered gruffly, turning his attention back out the window. After that, everyone was silent again. Even Nakul surprisingly, who normally couldn't shut his mouth.

I had everything planned out in my head, so that I would know what to do when the taxi came to a halt at their hotel.

"Mujhe bhukh lagi hai," moaned Daya suddenly, "Kuch nashta karne chale?"

"Sir apko to humesha bhukh lagti hai," Pankaj chuckled.  
"Firse wahi baat? Chup reh yaar!" Daya snarled.  
"Daya hum hotel pochne wale hai, you can order room service," Abhijeet sighed, his tone reminiscent of how you would talk to a small child. Daya made a disgusted sound.

"Hotel ka khana bhot hi stale hai yar. Kahi bahar chalte hai."

"Ap logo ke hotel ke samne ek acha sa restro hai waha acha khana milta hai," Nakul piped up, "24/7 wala restro hai. You could go there."

Daya sat up straight suddenly looking interested.  
"That sounds nice," he mused.

It was barely a few seconds later when Nakul nudged me in the ribs, and I caught onto the point I had missed by a mile.

"Ha woh bhot hi achi..jagah hai," I chirped, to which Daya responded with a smile in my direction.

"Main to sone jar aha hu or mujhe room service se koi problem nehi hai," muttered Freddy, still staring out the window.

"Haan yar," yawned Abhijeet, pulling his cap down over his eyes, "Main to bhot hi thak gaya hu, sone ja rha hu."  
"Main bhi!" Kavin rubbed his eyes while nodding.  
"Main bhi ghar chala jaunga," Nakul sighed, "Saari energy khatam. Or shayad guests ka abhi time khatam ho gaya hai, haina?"

Polite people would usually try and put up a protest at this point, but everyone in the car remained silent. Poor Nakul, it seems his overpowering personality had indeed gotten the better of the men from CID.

"Wese bhuk to mujhe bhi lagi Sir," Pankaj interjected.

"Nehiiii!" the best friends cried in perfect unison.

"Panka tu mere saath chal. Movie dekhenge ek saath haina!" Abhijeet muttered. Pankaj looked over at him, then at Daya and rolled his eyes.

"Chalo koi nehi."

"Bache hum dono," I said to Daya, "Mujhe to strict instructions mila hai apne boss se ki ap ke saath sara time spend karu ajka, jab tak ap sab hotel nehi poch jate."

"Jesi apki marzi ma'am," he laughed.

We left the others off at the hotel, with Nakul volunteering to walk home. I knew the secret behind this though, he was only going to the room Sanjay had given him so he could get pictures of Daya and I together. I was reluctant to let Nakul go, seeing as he was my safety net. Suddenly everything didn't feel so easy now I was on my own.

As promised, the little place was only a few minutes walk from the hotel. The night was considerably pleasant for January. There was nothing worth note in our conversation, I think we even talked about the weather at one point. I was pretty sure _this_ wasn't how one night stands were usually landed.

It was around ten at night when we took our seats in one of the little booth's that wouldn't have looked out of place in a classic bollywood movie. It didn't look completely melodious, but it wouldn't have looked out of place either way. We both ordered a few grilled sandwiches and coffee. It seemed that we did at least have _something_ in common; Our love of caffeine.

Daya chose to smother some chatni over his sandwich, to which I laughed. Wierd taste! I Know.

"Okay, ab meri bari," Daya said out of the blue when we were sitting down at the table.

"Kis cheez ke liye?" I asked, shooting him a strange glance.

"Ab meri baari tumhara interview lene ka, har kisi ko mauka milna chahiye" he smiled, pausing to take a sip of his drink, "I think it's only fair. You've been interviewing me all day."

"That's because it's my job," I laughed in response.

"Favourite flavour of ice cream?"

"Yeh kesa sawal hai?"

"Jawab do," he giggled.

"Fine, chocolate," I replied, thinking that there was absolutely no point in the question.

"Koi crush ya boyfriend?"

"Ap," I retorted before I realised what I'd said. I immediately wanted to take it back as he cocked his head to the side and shot me a peculiar look.

"Kya?"

"Next question," I muttered hastily, stuffing more food into my mouth.

"Kesa laga?"

I dropped my fork and began to choke on my food.

"Kya?!" I coughed out.

"The.. Sandwich..." he mumbled, his cheeks burning red, "Is the... Sandwich nice?"

"Oh..." I managed, "Yes... it's lovely."

"Tumhe kya laga?" he asked softly.

I paused, trying to figure out my next move. I knew what I _should_ say. I _should_ tell him the truth and get him all flustered, but I couldn't.  
"...next question," I mumbled keeping my eyes down.

"Ap Glamgoss me kabse kaam kar rhi hai?"

I looked up at him and knew with the shy yet slightly apprehensive look in his eyes this was his way of seeing if he's figuring something out.

"Is February me do saal ho jainge hum dono ko," I replied slowly.

"Dono ko?"

"Nakul," I chuckled, giving him a sly glance.

"Oh acha," he nodded.

"Wese log kehte hai ki ap or Abhijeet sir same to same ho, par mujhe to ap dono bhot different lagte ho!" I mused speaking my thoughts out loud.

"Different? Woh kaise?"

"Woh bhot open hai, sab kuch muh pe bol dete hai.. Or ap..." I trailed off trying to think of the best and least offensive way to say what I was going to say.

"Daravna?" he offered.

"Ji..!" I half agreed.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." he muttered, straightening up in his chair and pretending to look offended.

"Main mazak kar rhi thi!"

"Pata hai."

"Apki koi girlfriend hai?"

"Next question," he smirked before taking another sip of his coffee.

And that was pretty much how our conversation went. It was just little innocent flirts, nothing that would suggest he wanted to toss under the sheets with me. Perhaps it was my own fault. I should have been more forward, but for me that wasn't natural and was therefore difficult. I was very old fashioned, believing that the boy should make the movies while the girl stood and swooned at his side.

Nevertheless, time passed quickly and before I knew it, we were back in the hotel, standing in the lift, on the way back to his room.

"Ap shaant ho gayi? Kya baat hai?" he looked slightly worried.

"I'm just tired," I smiled in reply, glancing up at him, "Subah se chakkar laga rahe hai."

"Yeh to kuch bhi nehi, hume bureau me reh reh kar ese schedule ki aadat par chuki hai!" he breathed as the door slid open and we walked into the hall.

"Main yaha pehle a chuki hu shayad!" I noted, recognising the corridor from this morning. My heart began to hammer relentlessly in my chest as we walked slowly down to his room at the end.

"Wese... it's been a pleasure to be interviewed by you Jhanvi ji," Daya said with a secretive smile as he opened the door with his card key, "Yeh din mujhe humesha yaad rahega. It was fun."

"Thanks for the compliment," I laughed, "I'm sure mere boss ap sabse milne ko kehenge firse. Ap sab bhot ache ho!"

Daya smiled sweetly. We both stood in awkward silence for a few moments, then both of us spoke at the same time. I had to ask him to repeat himself.

"Agar apko koi aitraaz na ho to, kya hum firse kabhi coffee ke liye mil sakte hai?" he asked timidly.  
It took a few instants for my brain to process what he'd actually said.

"Sure, kyu nehi!" I chirped, taking my pen out of my pocket and scribbling my number down on the back of his offered hand. I didn't think he'd ever call me, not if things went _my_ way. Daya looked down at the number and smiled.

"Firse mulakat hogi, I hope!" he said as he opened his door and began to go in. This was my last chance and it was more than clear I was going to have to do all the work. I just had to swallow my convictions and get on with my job.

"Daya?" I managed to call after him with the_ ji_. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to kiss him as he turned around and looked at me with those molten chocolate eyes of his. It was what I had to do. It was that I was _going_ to do.

So I did.

I almost flung myself at him by accident, so it was understandable I suppose that he froze on the spot. I brought my face up to meet his and pressed my lips against his, waiting for some kind of response. After a moment, much to my relief, I felt him relax and he began to kiss me back. The taste on his tongue was sweet, like the candy that we'd been offered by the restaurant after the diner, what seemed only a minute ago. The gently rhythm of our mouths seemed so natural, like we had kissed a hundred times before.

We could have been there for hours but the time seemed to slip away so fast.

"Jhanvi," he breathed when we finally parted.

Deliberately, I glanced over his shoulder, looking at the room behind him. I bit down on my swollen lip and raised my eyes to meet his.

"Kya..main andar..a sakti hu?"

It took all my strength to say those few words. This wasn't me, but the real Jhanvi had to remain hidden from now on. No this was the new Jhanvi, one I didn't like but she was there to stay, at least for the next few hours.

He didn't grasp what I meant immediately, but when he caught on his face fell. My heart felt as though it had dropped out the bottom of my chest.

"Oh," he mumbled as he lowered his eyes to stare at his shoes.  
"Jhanvi...I don't... main... yeh sab...itni jaldi nehi. I'm sorry."

With those words it was game over for me. I admitted defeat and let go of him.

"It's okay," I smiled with good nature, "See you around."

I took a deep breath to calm myself and turned away. I'd have to call Nakul, explain what had happened, although if his view was as good as Sanjay had assured us he'd probably seen what had happened through the lens of his camera. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole affair, truth be I was kind of void of emotion. I felt numb.

"Jhanvi?"

I looked over my shoulder, surprised to see him still standing there.

"Ajao..andar..please...main tumse dur nehi reh sakta..please?" he stuttered.

My heart would get no rest tonight it appeared as it jumped back to life and began to beat ten times harder.

I smiled. Walking back towards him, he stood out of the doorway, ushering me in.

This was it. I'd won.

So why didn't I feel any better?

As I walked past him through the polished hotel door, I could feel the nerves radiating off him like heat from the sun. I wondered how someone who could make criminals pee their pants by just showing them his infamous glare could be nervous in front of one person, in front of plain boring old me.

"Kya tum…kuch logi…something," he croaked. There was an undercurrent of a shake in his voice and I knew then that he wasn't lying when he said he didn't do this sort of thing.

I considered his offer for a brief moment and decided that there wasn't the soft drink in the room's little drink cabinet for me to get trashed on, besides, a little liquid courage would ebb the guilt that I was trying unsuccessfully to suppress.

"That sounds nice, thanks" I replied with a small smile.

"Pespi?"

"Kuch bhi chalega."

"Okay…I'll… be back in a second," Daya said as he emptied his phone, Gun, wallet and whatever else he had in his pockets onto the little dresser at the side of the door before disappearing. I took the opportunity to look around the room. It was, naturally, very classy and upmarket. Of course I had been in this room before, when Daya was loading theirguns, but I hadn't taken that opportunity to look around. The room was coloured with burnt yellows and burgundy colours. Stealing a glance over at the bed, I looked at the maroon covers and took a deep breath. There were big glass doors at the end of the room, leading out onto a very small balcony. I paused and looked across the road at the travel inn on the other side of the road. I found it very amusing that they would build one opposite one of the most up market hotels in Mumbai. I scanned my eyes across the rows and rows of windows, some lit, some in darkness looking, I supposed, in vain for Nakul. A small white blink caught my eye in one of the dark rooms and I knew in that instant that's where he was. He'd set off the flash off on his camera, to let me know he was there. The quelling of my nerves from that little sign was short lived as Daya came back into the room carrying two glasses.

"Sorry, bas yehi tha mini fridge me," he apologised, as he came over and handed me the glass of yellowish liquid, looks like a juice, "It's only orange juice…"

I put it to my lips and took a small sip.  
"Koi baat nehi" I corrected him, "Ap itna polite mat bano Mr. Cop? Koi khas wajah?"

He went pink.  
"No…no I just… mai bhot..maine kabhi kisi larki ke saath.. raat nehi guzari..you know," he mumbled shyly.

"I'm kidding," I managed with a small laugh.

He relaxed into a grin before taking a drink from his own glass. Silence ensued as we both racked our brains for something to say but failed. Finally, as the quite became unbearable I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's a nice room. Apne boss ko thank you bol dena!" He mentioned while eying texture.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"I think this room is about half the size of my entire apartment," I laughed, before knocking more orange down my dry throat.

"Oh," breathed Daya, his mind clearly elsewhere as he stared out the window. I looked up at his face and could see the fear in his eyes. Well, perhaps fear is not the best word for the emotion I could see. A combination of nerves, apprehension, fear, and excitement merged into one complicated and confusing emotion.

"I..like you," he said suddenly, turning to lock his eyes with mine.

"Would I be here if I didn't feel the same?" I replied, hoping he couldn't hear the tremor in my voice. It wasn't a lie either, I _did_ like him. I liked him _a lot_. And there was no argument that I _wanted_ him. But did I want him like this? Of course not, but beggars can't be choosers. If I hadn't been asked to do this we would never have met, never have done anything.

With a clink he set his half drunken glass down, still not breaking eye contact with me. My already giddy heart took a leap as he closed the gap between us in one stride and put his arms around me. My still swollen lips found his and were once again locked. The familiar feeling of light headedness that I found I got when he kissed me once again took over and I reached out to set my glass down, feeling it better I hold onto him with both hands for fear of falling over. However, I missed the table and the glass landed with a thud on the carpet, the contents soaking into what was probably the most expensive carpet I'd ever stood on.

"Sorry," I breathed, breaking away for a second to do so.

"Mera carpet to nehi hai," he mumbled quickly before kissing me again. He was clearly nervous and eager as his style slipped away slightly and I found my mouth was reminiscent of a washing machine. 'Slow down' I tried to tell him without words. If I was going to be crippled by guilt in the days to come, I was going to make sure the here and now was something spectacular.

I shrugged my arms out of my jacket, letting it fall to the floor at my feet. In response, Daya rested his hands on the small of my back, his fingers touching the bare flesh through the slits in the material of my t-shirt. It felt as though each on of his fingers had a low electric current pulsing through it as my skin tingled at his touch.

He broke away.  
"Kya tum apne glasses ke bina kuch dekh sakti ho?"

"Nehi," I replied, slightly out of breath from his intoxicating presence.

"Oh," he said, "Hold on a moment."  
He placed his hands on my temples and slid my glasses from my face. My world became cloudy and unfocused and I couldn't ignore the slight feeling of unease at my loss of clear vision. But I didn't need my sight. Gently he pushed my t-shirt up over my torso, his hands still electrifying me. I raised my arms to the ceiling and he pulled it over the top of my head and tossed it to one side. Then, he placed my glasses back on my face.

"Main bhot nervous. hu.. kabhi nehi kiya yeh sab" he mumbled, his breathing slightly uneven.

"It's okay," I replied, "That makes two of us."

He didn't say another word, just smiled at me, those eyes of his boring through me, making me want him even more than I thought possible. I placed my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, the stud in his tongue sliding gently against my own tongue. All thoughts of Nakul, Sanjay and GlamGoss evaporated. The only thing that mattered now was him. I was a different person; all the guilt and shame disappeared to be replaced by an insatiable greed for my own satisfaction. His hands moved higher, and true to Nakul word, he seemed to be past caring that my chest was not spilling out over the top of my bra.  
Moving across the room we made our way to the bed, where he sort of collapsed on top of me, his legs straddled around my thighs, still deeply engrossed in our game of tonsil tennis. He was still fully clothed, but I was soon to remedy that. We broke just for long enough for me to pull his tight fitted maroon designer top off.

He moved his mouth away from mine and began to kiss my neck. The feeling of his warm lips brushing against my skin felt as though I was going I was going to spontaneously burst into flames at any minute. I ran my fingers over his chest, savouring the touch of his soft pale skin. Something caught my eye and I turned my head slowly.

In that instant the spell was broken. The reflection in the mirrors on the outside of the wardrobe showed two people, yet I only recognised one. I was a stranger to myself. Then, all the guilt hit me like a train and instead of the heat of passion, I felt a nausea creep up into my stomach. I wouldn't ever be able to look at myself in the mirror again, to live with myself knowing that I played the key role in destroying the life and reputation of a perfectly innocent and decent guy.

I couldn't do it.

"Daya," I gasped suddenly, "Daya please stop."

He halted his kisses and straightened so he was looking down at me, his brown eyes confused and concerned.  
"Kya hua, maine kuch galat kiya kya?" he asked.

He was searching my face for an answer. Words caught up in my throat.  
"I...I'm sorry," I managed to croak out, "I can't do this."

He looked at me and after a moment gave me a small and sympathetic smile.  
"Main samajh sakta hu," he whispered softly, "Main bhi itna forward nehi hu. I am so sorry!"

I should have bitten my tongue, swallowed the words down but I found them come up like vomit.  
"You don't understand," I exclaimed suddenly. He looked at me strangely.

"Kya hua fir?"

There were many things I should have done at that moment in time, for one, I should have left having kept my mouth shut. It would have been so much simpler if I had just put my t-shirt back on and left the room, keeping him ignorant. However, that's not the way events unfolded. I wasn't sure if I was stupid or just naive but I found myself compelled to listen to the little voice in the back of my head that was whispering to me, convincing me that everything would work out for the best if I told the truth, if I confessed to him. After all, honesty is the best policy. Right?

"Daya," I began, the words catching in my throat, "Main..."

Every part of me was shaking.

"Mujhe paise...diye gaye hai..yeh sab karne ke liye," I blurted suddenly, unaware of where the words had come from. All emotion left his face as my words sank in. Daya, who up until now had been on his hands and knees above me, crawled backwards to the end of the bed where he sat up over his heels, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Kya?"

I let out a long breath before starting the explanation.  
"The interview," I panted, my furiously beating heart leaving me short of breath, "It's fake. Sab kuch fake, mujhe tumhare saath sone ke liye paise diye gaye hai, tumhe badnam karne ke liye."

His face darkened with pain and anguish.

"I'm sorry," I breathed, the look on his face breaking my heart.

He remained silent, no longer looking at me. Slowly he got off the bed, to his feet and walked over to the window. He stared out of it for what seemed like an age.  
"Or Nakul?" he finally asked.

"T...taking photos... from the hotel across the street, sa..sabit karne liye, magazine me!" I stuttered against the cold that I suddenly felt, his warm and soft body now painfully far from mine.

"Daya..." I began, trying to make sense of everything in my head, "Main yeh bilkul nehi chahti thi... I..."

I stopped as he held up a hand to silence me. Turning from the window, the look on his face cut through me like a thousand knives. The warmth and compassion that I'd seen in them all day were gone, to be replaced with ice cold, angry eyes.

"Get out," he hissed.

It took more than a moment for his words to sink into me.

"What?" I stammered, confused at his response. I had told him the truth, did that count for _nothing_?

"Maine kaha na," he gritted his teeth, "Take your things and get out."

This was all wrong; in my head I had imagined something completely different, imagined a compassionate, understanding response. I had not anticipated anger. Was he overlooking the vital fact that I hadn't actually betrayed him? I hadn't _actually_ gone through with it, so why was he so mad?

"Daya," I managed, "Mujhe samjhane to do."  
I was desperate now, he didn't understand, and I had to make him understand.  
"Ab reh kya gaya hai?" he snapped picking up his t-shirt from the floor and pulling it down over his head roughly.

"Daya, please," I begged, "I didn't want to hurt you! I..."  
"Or kya tumne to bilkul hurt nehi kiya," he barked, the sarcasm on his words razor sharp, picking up my top from where it had landed and hurling it at me.  
"Yar ek baar… bas ek bar maine apne dil ki suni or tumse pyar kar baitha... and _you_ come in and fuck everything up."

"Daya, my editor, you don't know what he's like! I'm probably going to lose my job because I didn't… I didn't…"

"Didn't fuck me?"

I nodded, slowly putting my arms and head through my t-shirt.

"Well I'm sorry about that," Daya continued, "Par main isme tumhari koi madad nehi kar paunga. You don't deserve any sympathy!"

The hot feeling began to rise in my cheeks and I could feel the burning of threatening tears behind my eyes. He was right, I didn't deserve his sympathy, I was just a common tramp. I wasn't any better than a whore, after all, they got money for sleeping with men, how was I different? Brushing myself down I stood up, and dared to look at him once more.

"Tum jese aurato ke wajah se me humesha pyaar se dur bhagta hu," he snarled at me. . I wept my eyes with the back of my left hand, my mascara smeared all over. I was paying attention to him, his rage making me choke.

"Get out!"

I turned around and walked towards the door, knowing my place was no longer here. I wasn't going to stick around and have him yell at me anymore, I wasn't sure I could cope with much more of it.  
The door slammed shut behind me with an almighty bang and I was sure half the hotel had heard it as it continued to echo in my head. Then, the waterworks started. Silent streams of tears ran down my cheeks, dropping to the floor as I stared at the carpeted hall, unable to move anywhere.

So, here we are, full circle, this is where I started my story, standing outside Daya's hotel room an emotional wreck. It was certainly the most eventful day of my life, but it was also quite possibly the worst. There was nothing that could be salvaged here and I was ready to go home, to begin the process of forgetting. I'd like to say that this was the end of my story, that I went home with Nakul and never saw or heard from Daya again and that Sanjay understood what I'd been through and let me keep my job no questions asked. It turned out quite differently.

The grip of panic pounced on me as I realised that I'd left my jacket in Daya's room. I was clueless as to what to do. There was no way that I could knock on his door again, no way I could face him. But there was also no way that I could leave without my jacket. My phone, my notebook with everything about the stories I had been working on, and my favourite pen and quite a lot of money were in it. Confused and feeling so alone, I leant up against the wall outside his room and slid to the ground.

A door opened further up the hall and I glanced up quickly. It was the kindest friend of his, Abhijeet. For a moment I hoped he wouldn't see me, that I'd the laws of physics had taken pity on me and spared me the torment of having to face another member of CID tonight by turning me invisible. That, however, wasn't the case.

"Jhanvi?" he asked curiously as he spotted me, approaching me from the room he'd just left, "Tum ro kyu rahi ho… kya hua."

I wanted to explain to him everything, or at least make up a convincing enough lie as to why I was outside his best friend's room in floods of tears, but the words jammed in my throat and all I managed was an embarrassing sob.

"Hey!" he cried softly, quickening his pace before stopping in front of me and crouching down, "Hey, ro mat. Tell me kya hua," he soothed.

I couldn't take these extremes. One of them was being, deservedly, horrible while the other was treating me with sympathy and compassion that I really didn't merit.

"Oh…" he breathed suddenly, "Daya ne kuch kiya."

Glancing up at him, I managed a frown. How could he possibly know what had happened?

"Jhanvi, mai yar… Daya bhot sharamila hai. Woh tumhe bhot pasand karta hai. Tum chinta mat karo mai use baat karunga. Fir to koi problem nehi hoga na. Tum fikar mat karo, woh bhi tumhe utna hi pasand karta hai."

Of course he didn't understand. Yet with every word he spoke I felt worse and worse. Just then, the door to the room that I'd been so mercilessly kicked out of only minutes later opened and I sprang to my feet, almost knocking into Abhijeet as I did so. Daya stood, his face still like thunder, my coat in his arms. A small part of me was relieved of course, but I was more concerned with the prospect of another shouting match occurring.

"Yeh coat," he hissed, throwing it at me, "You left this."

I caught my jacket and hugged it tightly against my body.

"Daya…" Abhijeet asked hesitantly, "Kya… hua?"

I begged silently that he wouldn't tell his friend, I didn't think I could survive if someone else hated me.

"Hume gumrah kiya gaya hai Abhijeet," Daya began. Of course he would tell him, they were best friends.  
"There is no _interview_. She and her _friend_ have been collaborating for pictures and a first hand experience of what I'm like in a bed."

"_Kya_?" Abhijeet blurted, whirling his face around, stricken with confusion, to look at me. Then, his eyes narrowed and his face bore the same emotion as his friend.

"Isse pehle ki or kuch bura ho tumhare saath chali jao yaha se," Daya suggested, his face still thunderous.

"Agar...Tumne," spluttered Abhijeet, trying to keep himself from totally exploding, "us badsurat _insaan ne _…"

It was then I snapped. I would take blow after blow as long as it was directed at me, but no-one was going to slag off my friends, no matter what they had done.

"Mere dost ko dur rakho is sab se!" I yelled, with more force than I'd imagined myself capable of, "You can say whatever the hell you want about me but don't you dare insult my friend you bastard!"

Had Daya not pre-empted his best friends next move and grabbed onto his arm, I was sure that Abhijeet would have leapt at me then and there. He took a few deep breaths through his nose, his nostrils flaring as he tried to control himself.

"Agar tum yaw oh jo bhi tumhara dost hai humare as pas bhi aye, I'll arrest you myself!" Abhijeet growled.

I had outstayed my welcome by far, so I was more than happy to leave. I turned away, the image of both angry faces seared onto my brain as their eyes burned hatred into my back. I walked to the end of the corridor and made my way straight for the stairs, I wasn't going to hang around and wait for a lift with them still watching me. Adrenalin coursed through my veins. I was so many things at once that I was surprised my small body could cope with it all. One stair after another, I was on auto pilot, not really thinking about anything other than getting myself as far away them as possible.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the lobby, I felt my knees almost buckle with relief as I spotted the person who I most wanted in the world right now. Nakul, who was dripping wet from what must have been rain, ran over and threw his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. The floodgates opened once more and I let out a few pent up sobs into his shoulder.

"Ro mat yaar," he soothed, patting me on the back, "It's okay. Let's get you home. Everything's going to be fine."

He made me stay where I was and went back out into what I could now see in the orange streetlamps was a downpour of rain to hail a cab for us both. I had had enough of Taxi's today and almost considered walking home in the rain, but Nakul insisted, knowing that I would catch hypothermia or something of the like.

The journey was silent, and I spent it with my face buried into Nakul's shoulder. I had cried all the tears that I could and my eyes felt as though they would explode at any moment. He didn't say anything to me, just put his arm around me every so often and squeeze a little. Nakul, despite the presumption that gay guys were more in touch with their feelings, was very secretive about his. He would cry openly at sad movies or something like that, but when he was feeling real anger or sorrow, for something in his own life, he would lock himself in the bathroom for a few hours. That only happened every so often.

When we got back to the apartment I wanted to go straight to bed, but he insisted that we talk first so I settled myself down on the sofa, kicking off my shoes and hugging my knees close for comfort. He appeared moments later with some ice cream to settle my mood.

"I left the room as soon as I saw things heading south," Nakul explained, offering me out a spoon, "Kya hua wese?"

So I explained ever little detail to him. Every so often I would burst into tears and he would give me a hug. Recalling how Daya, and later Abhijeet, had freaked out still cut me deep. I felt sick, and it wasn't entirely the fault of the rich chocolaty ice cream either. When my mouth was dry from speaking and my head hammering from all the crying I closed my eyes. Out like a light, I awoke a few hours later with the sun streaming through the French doors in our flat, stinging my red raw eyes. Nakul was no-where to be found. I sat up and stretched, the blanket I assumed he had covered me in when I fell asleep falling off onto the floor. It was only 8am, meaning that I had barely slept five hours, and I definitely could feel it. I was shattered.

Then, out of one of the side rooms, Nakul appeared, a brown envelope in his hands. He had showered and changed since last night. Sitting down on the sofa, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Ye le," he muttered, putting the envelope into my hands.

Confused, I lifted up the flap and shook the contents out. Glossy bits of paper tumbled out onto my lap. Picking them up, I examined them. It only took a few minutes for me to realise what they were. Two figures, almost crystal clear despite the distance, stood talking in the photo. The next one showed the same two people kissing, the next undressing, and the fourth one showed them lying on the bed, hands roaming. Needless to say it was myself and Daya.

"Tu uski dhaiya ab bhi ura sakti hai," Nakul whispered even though there was no-one to overhear.  
"Sabak sikhana chahti hai to sikha."


	15. A real introduction, suitable ending!

** I really can't believe this is my last chapter of this story! Please review! and please tell me if you are ready for a sequel of this! I wanted a lot of reviews...I am so so happy to have such awesome readers! Thank you everyone for the support! I love you!**

I stared at the photographs in my hands, riddled by confusion. I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I was torn. One part of me wanted to take Nakul's lighter and burn them to ashes so every last possible reminder of the whole damned affair was gone. The other, more sinister side of me which I didn't like to admit to was saying completely the opposite. That dark little voice in the back of my head was whispering to me again, telling me to take the photos to Sanjay and bring Mr. High and Mighty Cop down. I had told him everything, tried to fix it all and turn the bad situation around before I did something I'd regret. Yet he'd kicked me to the kerb without so much as a thought to the _effort_ that I had made to come clean. The little voice told me that he wasn't worth another compassionate though and that he would get what was coming to him, if I handed in the photos. I also wanted to get back at Abhijeet for what he'd said about Nakul and knew framing his best friend would just about satisfy that urge.

Anger, at how last night's events had turned out, now seething through my veins. I was seeing red and nothing else. Decided, I quickly shoved the photos back into the envelope.

"Jhanvi," Nakul started, slightly hesitant, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Standing up defiantly onto my feet I looked down at him.  
"More than anything," I confirmed.

Nakul nodded in understanding.  
"Main yahi rahunga, tujhe larai khud larni hai!" he said.  
I grabbed my jacket from last night and a hair tie that was lying on the side bench. Stopping to think out things over a hot shower or even to change into fresh clothes never even crossed my mind. I simply tied my hair back and that was me. I couldn't give a damn what the world thought of me today, I was on a mission.

The morning was cold and sharp, feeling more like winter than late spring. The rain from last night had left the streets wet with little puddles in the holes. I must have looked like some crazy woman, storming along the near empty high street at half eight in the morning but I hadn't a care to spend on anyone who thought of me that way. Let them stare, let them think whatever the hell they wanted to think. They hadn't a notion of what I'd been through.

When I arrived at the office I wasn't surprised to see it practically empty. Sunday, you see, was or post publication day and that was most people's day off. I flashed my I.D. at the secretary, feeling irritated by the fact that she didn't know me. However, I let her off since she had only been working here for the better part of three weeks.

With each foot slapping in anger, I stormed up the stairs. I would hand the photos over and write whatever Sanjay wanted me to write to go with it, no matter if it was complete bullshit . Daya would get what was coming to him, a big time wake up call. He showed me no sympathy so I'd return the favour. As expected there was no-one at any of the computers in the publication area where all the writers, myself included, would spend our usual nine to five day. Walking through the deserted room felt very strange – even foreboding. At the far side was Sanjay's personal office, cordoned off from the rest of us. I could see him, his large outline seated in his chair.

A wave of nausea hit me like a punch in the gut. My earlier anger and stubbornness begun to melt away and I realised that I hadn't thought anything through properly. All rationality had abandoned me earlier, but was now slowly seeping back. Sure handing the pictures over would make me feel better, but for how long? A few days perhaps, maybe even a week, but as soon as the magazine hit the shelves I knew that I would be crippled by guilt and regret. I'd already caused Daya enough damage and even though I was still mad at him for his lack of understanding last night it wasn't like me at all to be vengeful.

Looking down at the envelope that I held onto with a vice like grip I sighed, and relaxed my hand. There was no way I could hand those in with a guiltless conscious. I turned around and headed back towards the door. I'd think of excuses later for Sanjay, right now I was going home.

"Jhanvi!"

My heart missed a beat. Sanjay had been on the phone when I'd walked in and I was sure that he hadn't seen me. Slowly, I turned around, unable to pretend I hadn't heard him. He was standing, a big grin on his face, in the door way of his little dingy office.

"Oh... Hi Sanju..." I managed.

"Wow, you look so bad," he commented.

"Huh... thanks," I chided sarcastically, rubbing my fingers over my forehead, racking my brains for an excuse as to why I was here. Anything I would come up with would be irrelevant; there was only one reason why I would be here.

"Come in, come in," he ushered quickly.

"Actually..." I began, "I was... just...I...leaving and..."

"Koi bahana nehi chalega, come in and sit down," he instructed, and I was powerless to resist as he walked over and took my arm, leading me into his office.

I really didn't want to be here anymore, but it seemed like a way out wasn't plausible now. I was like a fly caught in a web, with Sanjay the spider, slowly descending on me to drink me dry.

"So," he sighed, grunting as he sat down in his chair again, taking a cigarette out of the packet with his greasy fingers and pushing it to his lips. Lighting up he took a drag and breathed the smoke out into the unventilated room. I wrinkled my nose. When I had started at GlamGoss Simon had seemed like a kind uncle that you never saw but always liked; the sort of one that would push money into your hand and tell you not to tell your parents. However, the more and more I worked for him, the more and more Sanjay repulsed me with his horrible habits and his sly nature. I clutched the pictures close to my chest, unwilling to ever let them go.

"Kal raat kesa tha?"

I fiddled with the zip on my jacket, trying to avoid his eyes.  
"It... it was... different," I admitted.

"How so?" he chuckled, "Do police men not fuck in the same way as normal people nowadays?"

I cringed.  
"No... no..." I stammered, slightly nervous, "It's just... it didn't go to plan."

Sanjay raised his eyebrow up to a receding hairline, his face furrowed.  
"What do you mean... didn't go to plan?" he asked, sceptically.

"Well," I croaked, "It... I... I couldn't go through with it."

I dared to look upwards at him to see his reaction. His face was beginning to change colour from his normally peach to a purple, something which I'd never seen happen before. He didn't speak immediately, just took a long drag from the cigarette and stubbed the remainder into his overflowing ash tray. He placed his elbows on the desk and interlocked his fingers.

"You mean to say that you didn't sleep with Mr. Daya," he said, surprisingly calm, "Despite the fact that he _did_ accept your offer?"

I nodded and he leant back into his chair.

"I can't believe you would be so stupid," he spat, "Do you have _any_ idea about how much revenue that would have brought in? All those little teen girls wanting to know about how Daya's just a big a whore as all of those other famous men in this town. If he had turned you down of course, mujhe samajh me ataa. Par usne tumhe accept kiya!"

My loathing of Sanjay went up a few notches after that. What was he trying to insinuate? He got up out of the chair and walked around the room behind me, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I mean," he continued, "There's nothing stunning about you. It was just a lucky shot, and I doubted that any of the more suitably looking girls here would have taken up the assignment."

I went to get up, if he thought I was staying here another second to be insulted he had another thing coming. A hand pressed down on my shoulder and I buckled, flopping back down into the seat.

"Sit," Sanjay growled.  
If I had a choice, the place in the entire world where I wouldn't want to be at that precise moment, was exactly where I was stuck. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. The tension in the room was so intense I thought I was going to suffocate under the pressure.

"So, if nothing happened, what's in the envelope?" he asked, grabbing at the envelope over my shoulder. I tightened my grip and shot a glare in his direction, refusing to give them up.

"We didn't have sex," I replied, a fiery edge on my tongue, "But that doesn't mean we didn't do _anything_. Nakul still managed to get some photos."

"Really?" Sanjay asked fairly surprised, "Well I suppose there's something to be salvaged here. Let me have a look."

I clutched the envelope tighter against my chest and shrugged off his hand. Standing up I held myself as high as I could.

"I've changed my mind Sanjay, this is wrong, and I don't want anything to do with it," I breathed, my heart thumping hard against my ribs.

"Jhanvi," he warned, taking a step towards me, "Think carefully about this, there's one hell of a bonus in this for you."

"I don't care," I snapped, "I'm not handing this over, Sanjay. Mujhe nehi karna yeh sab."

He clenched his teeth.  
"If you don't give me it you..._stupid_ little _girl_, you're never stepping a foot back in this magazine."

"Then I _quit_," I hissed, sick of putting up with everything. I was being insulted, used and abused, and I was through with it. He could find a new scapegoat. Holding up the envelope in both hands in front of me Sanjay's face paled and he lunged forward.

"Don't!" he yelled, but it was too late. With a satisfying noise, I tore the photos in half, then in half again, and I kept going until the pieces were too small to be put back together. I threw them up into the air and the pieces fluttered down to the ground like fake, multicoloured snow.

"Ab sab barabar ho gaya na," I yelled, "Nakul and I will be back tomorrow to clean our desks out."

I stormed towards the door but Sanjay's big hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"You better hope to fucking God that Nakul has another copy of those photos," he snarled, towering over me. I have never wanted to run away more than anything in my life. Looking at his furious face was quite possibly one of the worst experiences of my life. I could almost feel my arm bruising under his grip.

"Chor mujhe!" I screamed.

"Wese Daya jese officer ko tujhme esa kya dikh gaya?" he hissed, oblivious to my struggling, "Esa khas hai tujhme jo woh tere saath sone ke liye tayyar ho gaya tha!"

It was like some horrific nightmare, his massive body over powering me in both height and weight. There was no way I could fight back as he slammed me up against the wall. Whatever he wanted, there was no way could I stop him. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that Sanjay was capable of anything like this. I shut my eyes tight, trying to block it out, pretend it wasn't happening.  
"What did you show him huh? What did he see that I haven't?"  
I let out another scream, strangled and hoarse, in a desperate attempt to have someone hear me. But I knew it was futile. No-one but Sanjay worked on a Sundays, I was totally alone.

With an almighty crash, glass rained down on me from above. Sanjay stumbled to the floor with a yell, clutching the back of his head.

"Tum! Yaha kya kar rehe ho?" I blurted, my initial reaction to the third person in the room.

"Thank you bhi bol sakti thi haina!" Daya snapped, throwing the un-broken bit of the vase on the floor beside Sanjay who was kneeling on all fours, clutching at his chest, his breathing raspy and faltered, with blood pumping out of a gash on the back of his head. There was a pause, both our eyes fixed on Sanjay. Then, Daya slowly raised those eyes and looked up at me.  
"Ambulance bulana hoga!"

The ambulance arrived within a few minutes, carting Sanjay off, with great difficulty might I add. We were told to remain where we were until the some local cops arrived. It worried me to think that Daya might just cuff me along with Sanjay. But he didn't, he didn't even call his CID team. I was hugging my knees as I sat on the floor, not having moved from the spot where Sanjay had pushed me against the wall. We hadn't spoken a word to each other, save for a few brief words regarding Sanjay and the ambulance and such. With Sanjay now gone and us apparently bound by some legal binds to stay put until the Police arrived, I felt obliged to break the mounting silence in the room.

"Tum yaha kya kar rhe ho?" I repeated, slowly looking up at him across the room. I wasn't ungrateful for the rescue, but still baffled by his presence. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never see him again.

"Photos," he muttered gruffly, his hands in his pockets, "Main yaha woh sare photos ko kharidne aya tha jo Nakul ne kheeche the...Paise ke liye yeh sab kuch kiya than a...me soch raha tha ki agar me saare photos kharidlu..paise yaha se aye ya waha se..kya farak parta hai"

"Tum akele aye ho?" I pressed.

"I didn't want anyone else to know that didn't have to. The more people involved the harder it is to hide. Abhijeet ko nehi laya, woh shayad kisi ki khoon hi karde!" he added with a snort.

I would have laughed, had I not seen Abhijeet in action earlier. To kill someone didn't seem that out of his reach when he was angry. I buried my head in my knees again, avoiding looking at him again. I could hear the clock on Sanjay's wall, slowly ticking the seconds away as we waited. Daya cleared his throat.

"So... where are they?"

I looked up and frowned, not catching on at that point that he was still talking about the reason he was here.

"The photos?" he prompted and I let out an understanding 'Oh.'

I gestured to the little pieces on the paper that littered the floor of the room, dotted with the odd spot of red from the blood from where Sanjay's head had bled. Daya looked at the carpeted ground, his brown eyes skimming over the debris. His eyebrows slowly lifted towards his cap.

"Tumne fara..in sab photos ko?" he asked, rather surprised.

I slowly nodded my head, avoiding the questioning look in his eyes.

"After last night I thought... I..." he trailed off as he bent down to pick up all the pieces of torn photograph. Now level with me, he moved his face until he crossed my vision which had been trained through the window. When he caught my eyes one corner of his mouth turned upwards in the tiniest of sympathetic smiles.

"Thank you," he said softly.  
A pressure built up in my chest and I could feel the word vomit coming up. Daya was calm, no longer red in the face with anger, and my second attempt at apologising was about to come spilling out of my mouth.

"Daya, I'm so sorry I..."

But I was stopped in my tracks as the long awaited police appeared at the door.

"Sir, sab thik, to haina?" said the male one as the female officer talked into her radio. I began to feel panicky, with questions buzzing around inside my head. What if they question? What if they charged me for assault? What if they charged Daya? It would be all my fault.

Daya stood to his feet and offered to help me up from my huddled position on the floor. Accepting his offer he pulled me onto my toes.

*****

"...Sir ap fikar mat kijiye kisi ko kuch pata nehi chalega ap bas dhyan rakhna.. Security camera mese sare footage mil gaye hai."

"Security cameras?" I blurted suddenly, forgetting where I was and under what situation. The female that was questioning sighed, trying to be patient with me.

"Ha, usko charge karne ke liye!" He answered. His eyes swept over me.

"You look awful," he breathed.

"Sab yahi keh rahe hai," I sighed, rolling my eyes to the heavens. "Why are you still here? Photos ko to far ke fek diya mene."

Just then his phone started to ring. Daya growled in frustration as he shoved his hand into his jacket pocket to retrieve it.

"Fuck _off_," he shouted at the device, before cancelling the call and hitting the off switch. He turned it around, showing me the blank screen.

"Main aj bureau me nehi ja raha hu. Coffee pine chalo gi mere saath."

The prospect of coffee sounded appealing, the company, however, wasn't so appealing. What more could Daya possibly have left to say to me? I was almost positive he'd said all he needed to say last night. He had made it pretty clear that he never wanted to see my face again, yet here he was offering to have coffee with me. Holding my head in my hand for a few moments I tried to settle my buzzing brain. This was officially one of the weirdest days of my life.

"Why not?" I agreed.

****

The atmosphere in the coffee house proved unbearable, especially seeing as it was the same one as I had conducted the interview in twenty four hours ago. We sat in silence for a good five minutes, silently sipping at our beverages. I fiddled with my mug, tracing my finger around and around the lip. Daya sat stirring at his with the little wooden sticks. Being the weaker willed of the both of us, naturally, I cracked first.

"Daya, I... Kal ke liye, I'm so sorry, I never wanted to..."

Daya held up his hand to stop me mid sentence. He took a sip of his coffee, set the cup down and then licked the foam off the top of his lip. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.

"I have a...phobia sort of... larkiyo ke bare me," he began, "Humesha esa lagta tha ki kahi koi larki mujhe dhokha na de ya bas mera use kare..."

I cringed as he shifted his eyes from his drink to look me directly in the eyes. I was his nightmare girl.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered again.

"Last night when you told me that you were doing it for a magazine, that was... the worst possible thing that I could have imagined, so I flipped. And Abhijeet knows how I feel and he's... woh mere bare me mujhse bhi zyada protective hai. That's why he flipped too..."

"Sorry..."

"Jhanvi," he sighed, "_Please_ bar bar sorry kehna band karo."

"Sor..."  
I trailed off just in time, realising what I was saying before I finished.

"After I calmed down, I realised something. You were only my nightmare, because I _made_ you my nightmare."

And that's when he totally lost me. I must have had a totally clueless look on my face, because he then began to explain.

"Last night... I was just a... a... _horny_ little guy. If I had been the self-controlled adult that I like to think myself, none of this would have happened and we wouldn't be in this mess. I'm sorry I flipped out, that's really not like me, honest. And I'm sorry for Abhijeet too, he's just... he's just my best friend. If you could forgive me..."

"Daya..." I groaned, "This... this is _wrong_, I should be asking _you_ to forgive _me_!"

His mouth twitched into a smile.  
"Only if you forgive me first, maine kal tumhare saath bhot battamezi se baat ki hai. Please, mujhe maaf kardo!"

"Fine," I sighed, trying to seem exasperated, but allowing a small smile to play across my lips, "Apology accepted."

"Ditto," he confirmed, relaxing back into his seat a little more.

"I just..." I bit my lip, holding back more word vomit. I couldn't tell him _that_.

"What?" he asked, tipping his head to the side slightly.

"Nothing..." I murmured.

"Jhanvi," Daya warned, arching his right eyebrow, "Batao kya baat hai."

"I just wish...ke hum yeh sab jo bhi hai sab bhul jai, you know? I wish that we could start again, like none of this ever happened... but I know that..."

He thrust his hand out suddenly. I leant back away from it, confused.

"What?" I quizzed, looking sceptically at his long fingered hand, then at him.

"Senior Inspector Daya from CID, pleased to meet you," he beamed.

"Daya..." I moaned, rolling my eyes.

"Ap kaun ho?" he pressed, moving his hand closer to me again.

"Daya..."

"Apne jawab nehi diya," he sniffed.

"Daya please..."

"Yeh galat baat hai, me bhot polite ban raha hu, please don't be rude, introduce yourself, shayad maine apko kahi dekha hai!"

Unable to hide the feeling of joy that blossomed from my chest, I grinned a little bit as I took his hand.

"Jhanvi Sharma," I introduced, shaking his hand.

"Pleased to meet you Jhanvi," Daya nodded. We lasted a grand total of three seconds before we burst out laughing into our respective cups of coffee.

As for what happened after that? Well, that's another story, for another day.

The end!


End file.
